UPDATE - Arrest warrants out for 346 FETO suspects in Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE ARRESTS AND WARRANTS, HEADLINE CHANGED

By Muhammed Enes Can, Sezgin Pancar and Savas Guler

ISTANBUL/MERSIN/KONYA, Turkey (AA) - The chief public prosecutors' offices in Istanbul, Konya and Mersin provinces issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for 346 people over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), an illegal network behind Turkey's defeated coup attempt in 2016, according to a security source.

The Istanbul-based warrants for 170 FETO suspects was part of an investigation in 38 provinces across Turkey. Some of the suspects are on-duty military personnel, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

Separately, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in central Konya province issued arrest warrants for 80 people for suspected links to FETO as well; 47 out of the 80 suspects have been arrested so far.

Meanwhile, Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in southern Mersin province also issued arrest warrants for 96 suspects who had been accused of using the ByLock mobile application, which was allegedly used by FETO members during the 2016 defeated coup; 88 of the suspects have been arrested so far.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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