UPDATE - Turkish police arrest 34 for suspected FETO terror ties

CHANGES DECK, ADDS STATEMENT OF PROSECUTORS IN BLACK SEA SAMSUN PROVINCE

By Cemil Murat Budak, Ismet Karakas and Recep Bilek

ANKARA / SAMSUN, Turkey (AA) - Turkish police arrested 34 suspects on Monday over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said.

The arrests on charges of using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, came after prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 46 suspects.

Police continue seeking the remaining suspects.

Separately, prosecutors in the Black Sea Samsun province also issued arrest warrants for 18 suspects including 16 active-duty soldiers and two former military school students for communicating via pay phone with “covert imams” -- senior FETO members -- according to a prosecutor’s office statement.

Anti-terror police teams started simultaneous operations in 13 provinces, including the Aegean Izmir province, the statement added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev