UPDATE - Turkey arrests 54 FETO-linked terror suspects

UPDATES WITH MORE ARRESTS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; MINOR EDITS

By Mirac Kaya and Orhan Yoldas

BALIKESIR/MALATYA, Turkey (AA) – Dozens of people in Turkey were arrested on Monday over their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), security sources said.

Prosecutors in the northwestern Balikesir province issued arrest warrants for 54 suspects, including 36 serving soldiers along with expelled and retired former military officials.

Anti-terrorism police raided the residences of the suspects in 38 provinces and arrested 45 of them, a source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media. The operation is underway to nab the remaining suspects.

In a separate operation in the eastern Malatya province, security forces nabbed three FETO suspects. The three were active in the terror group’s so-called board of trustees, the provincial security directorate said in a statement.

Separately, six more suspects were held in Malatya-based operations across three provinces, another source said.

Anti-terror police carried out simultaneous operations to nab the suspects who infiltrated into the Turkish Armed Forces.

Two suspects were remanded for using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, it added.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas and Gozde Bayar