By Sertac Bulur and Orhan Onur Gemici
ANKARA (AA) - At least 60 ex-police officers were arrested across Turkey on Thursday for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup, according to a security source.
The operations against FETO were launched after Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 108 former or retired police officers, including high-ranking police staff.
Police arrested 60 suspects during simultaneous raids on several addresses early on Thursday across 30 provinces.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Turkey 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.