ANKARA

Turkish security forces on Tuesday held at least 115 people for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, officials and security sources said.

Prosecutors in Turkey’s western province of Izmir issued arrest warrants for 25 suspects, 22 of whom were then arrested in simultaneous operations in the city.

Separately, in the Black Sea province of Samsun, four FETO suspects were nabbed.

In Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Eskisehir, at least eight fugitives linked to FETO were arrested. They were sentenced to imprisonment for over up to 7.5 years.

Separately, prosecutors in Turkey’s eastern province of Gaziantep issued arrest warrants for 121 suspects including on-duty soldiers. As many as 81 of them were arrested in anti-terror operations in 32 Turkish provinces.

Prosecutors in Istanbul also issued arrest warrants for 46 suspects, including on-duty and dismissed soldiers. Police are carrying out operations in 21 Turkish provinces to arrest the suspects.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) dismissed 13 judges and prosecutors over their suspected links to FETO.

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

Ankara 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.

*Halil Fidan in Izmir, Recep Bilek in Samsun, Ismet Karakas in Ankara, Emrah Yasar in Eskisehir, Murat Kaya in Istanbul and Adsiz Gunebakan in Gaziantep contributed to this story