ADANA, Turkey

Turkish authorities arrested seven people on Saturday over their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, security sources said.

In simultaneous operations in the metropolis of Istanbul as well as the southern Adana and southeastern Adiyaman provinces, anti-terror police arrested seven suspects, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects are accused of using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, and being a member of the terror group, it added.

One suspect was remanded by a court, while three others were released under judicial control.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar