Turkey nabs 41 illegally crossing into Syria, Greece

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security authorities nabbed 41 people as they were attempting to cross into Syria and Greece illegally, the National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said in a written statement that among them were two people affiliated with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, the PKK terror group, and a member of a radical terror group, who was hunted internationally with red notice.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 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.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.