Turkey: 38 FETO-linked terror suspects arrested

By Ferdi Uzun, Turan Kazak, Mustafa Yilmaz and Cuneyt Celik

ANKARA (AA) - At least 38 people have been arrested across Turkey over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said on Wednesday.

In a southwestern Aydin-based operation, police arrested eight suspects in simultaneous operations in five different provinces, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In a northwestern Bursa-based operation, at least 15 suspects were arrested in 10 difference provinces after Bursa’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued warrants for 22 on-duty soldiers, as part of a probe into the terror group’s structure in the military.

Separately, police arrested nine others in a central Aksaray-based operation conducted across 10 provinces. Among the suspects were teachers, engineers and tax inspectors.

Another raid in eastern Kars province also saw arrests of six on-duty police personnel for their links to the terror group, according to another police source.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 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.