EDIRNE/ANKARA
Three fugitive naval commandos, linked to last year's July 15 coup attempt, have been arrested by the police in Turkey's northwestern Edirne province as they attempted to flee abroad, a security source said Tuesday.
The three SAT (Underwater Offense) Commandos, identified only by their initials, were arrested in a Monday operation conducted by local intelligence and security departments, according to the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Former 1st Lt. A.C., Sgt. Maj. Y.O and M.O were wanted by the police for attempting to abolish the constitutional order following a decision by the 4th High Criminal Court in Ankara, the source said.
During the interrogation, the suspects admitted their links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which, along with its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen, is accused by Ankara of orchestrating the defeated coup, which left 249 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, the source added.
The suspects, who had 11,000 Turkish liras, 40,000 Euros and $7,105 on them at the time of arrest, also admitted to taking active part in the coup attempt, saying they had been informed about the plot five days in advance.
The commandos said the initial plan was to take President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Huber Palace in Istanbul to Samandira in Sancaktepe district, before taking him away on a ship anchored off the coast of the Marmara Sea.
They later headed to Marmaris in southwestern Mugla province as Erdogan was vacationing at a hotel there, but were diverted to the Akinci Main Jet base in Ankara upon a phone call.
Erdogan departed for Istanbul on the coup night after being alerted about the attempt. He also narrowly escaped an armed attack on the hotel he was staying in Marmaris. The hotel was bombed 15 minutes after his departure.
Akinci -- renamed Murted after the coup bid -- is located outside Ankara and was used as a base by some pro-coup soldiers; fighter jets which took off from the base that night bombed several places in the capital, including the parliament building. Loyal Turkish military officers were also held hostage at the base.
The suspects said they buried their weapons in the ground at the base before running away.
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.
