2 key FETO suspects brought back to Turkey

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) – Two more alleged senior Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members were brought back to Turkey from abroad as part of operations against the terror group, police sources said on Thursday.

Isa Ozdemir, who was apprehended in Azerbaijan, and Salih Zeki Yigit, in Ukraine, have been brought to Istanbul by private plane on Thursday afternoon following operations conducted by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Ozdemir and Yigit are suspected of being members of an armed terror organization.

Turkish intelligence officers last March had brought six alleged senior FETO members back to Turkey following operations against the terror group’s branch in the Balkans, according to security sources.

In cooperation with Kosovar intelligence, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) arrested the six men, who were said to be in charge of getting FETO members out of Turkey to go to Europe and the U.S..

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.

Turkey has brought back 80 Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members from abroad so far, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in April.