ANKARA 

Turkish prosecutors issued on Tuesday arrest warrants for 19 suspects over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said.

The warrants for the suspects found to be using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, were issued in Ankara.

Police have launched operations to arrest the suspects.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people 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.