41 FETO terror suspects nabbed across Turkey

By Ismet Karakas and Tanju Ozkaya

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security units on Friday arrested 41 suspects linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

A total of 66 suspects in the Gendarmerie Command were identified following an investigation by intelligence, anti-terror, and cyber teams, said a statement by prosecutors in the capital Ankara.

A subsequent large-scale operation in 25 provinces apprehended 41 of the suspects, with operations continuing to find the rest.

Among the suspects are permanently expelled or temporarily suspended officials, including lieutenants, colonels, and captains, as well as military students and so-called “covert imams.”

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.

Ankara 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 Ali Murat Alhas