UPDATE - Turkey arrests 86 over FETO links

UPDATE WITH MORE ARRESTS

By Halil Demir and Zekeriya Gunes

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 86 suspects were arrested across Turkey for their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), according to security sources on Saturday.

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for 103 suspects for being part of FETO's "marriage service structure", said the sources, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects' names apparently appeared in match-making catalogs prepared by the terror group to allegedly help its members find spouses.

Police conducted simultaneous operations in 36 provinces and arrested 63 suspects, the sources said, adding that the operations were underway to arrest the remaining suspects.

In another operation in Istanbul, Esmaul Husna Oksuz, niece of Adil Oksuz, who is accused of being a mastermind behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, was arrested while she was allegedly trying to send FETO-linked documents to the U.S. by courier, the sources said.

Oksuz was brought to a court and remanded in custody.

Separately, 15 on-duty military officers were arrested for their suspected links to FETO in the western province of Manisa.

Four more suspects were also arrested each in Budur and Konya provinces for their suspected links to FETO, another security source said.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of 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.