UPDATE 2 - Police arrest over 1,000 FETO suspects across Turkey

UPDATES WITH SUSPENSION OF SECURITY PERSONNEL, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Orhan Onur Gemici and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - More than 1,000 suspected Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members in the police were arrested in simultaneous early morning raids across Turkey on Wednesday, the interior minister said.

“1,009 covert ‘imams’ in 72 provinces have been taken into custody so far,” Suleyman Soylu said in the capital Ankara. “This is an important step for the Republic of Turkey.”

FETO is said to refer to its cell leaders as “imams”.

The arrests came as part of an 8,500-officer operation coordinated from Ankara targeting FETO police infiltration in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces.

The operations were carried out as part of a probe led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The nationwide hunt for other suspects continued.

Later, the Security General Directorate said 9,103 police employees had been suspended on Wednesday over suspected FETO links.

According to the government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated July’s attempted coup, which resulted in 249 deaths.

Ankara has said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Since the defeated coup, operations have targeted FETO suspects in these three areas, as well as other institutions.