UPDATE - Turkey issues arrest warrants for 281 FETO suspects

UPDATES WITH MORE WARRANTS IN IZMIR, ANKARA; ADDS DETAILS, CHANGES TITLE, LEDE AND DECK

By Muhammed Enes Can, Mustafa Yıldırım and Cankut Tasdan

ISTANBUL/IZMIR/ANKARA, Turkey (AA) - Turkey is seeking some 281 suspects across the nation for their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, judicial sources said on Tuesday.

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 53 active-duty soldiers, who are accused of communicating with FETO members through pay phones and land phones, as part of a probe into FETO presence in the Turkish Armed Forces.

Police launched simultaneous operations in 15 provinces, including Istanbul, for the suspects working for the gendarmerie branch of Turkish Armed Forces, as well as Land, Air and Naval Forces Command.

Separately, Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants in 41 provinces for some 176 suspects including so-called imams, soldiers, teachers, police officers and doctors for their links to FETO.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also issued arrest warrants for 52 on-duty soldiers for their alleged links to the terror group.

Police hunt across the country is ongoing.

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 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.