Turkey: 73 military personnel dismissed for FETO links

ANKARA (AA) – Seventy-three members of the Turkish Air Forces, including 66 commanders and seven sergeants, were dismissed Wednesday for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group Turkey blames for the July 15 defeated coup, the military announced on Twitter.

“The personnel dismissal issue is handled with the utmost sensitivity. Our heroic soldiers loyal to the nation continue their missions successfully,” said a Defense Ministry tweet, adding that the armed forces will be cleansed of FETO members.

Today’s action follows last week’s dismissal of 820 Land and Sea Forces personnel, with 648 of those remanded in custody.

Wednesday’s dismissals raise the total number of discharged personnel to 4,524, including 151 generals.

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.