18 FETO terror suspects arrested in Turkey: Sources

ISTANBUL / ANKARA / EDIRNE, Turkey

Turkish police arrested 18 people over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said on Tuesday.

The Ankara's Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 14 suspects who were active in the terror group’s structure in educational institutions.

Police’s anti-terrorism branch in the capital Ankara arrested 13 suspects, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

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.

Separately, the prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for six active-duty soldiers as part of a probe into the group's alleged presence in the Turkish Armed Forces.

Police conducted Ankara-centered simultaneous operations in four provinces, and arrested five of them in Ankara, Izmir, Balikesir, and Kutahya provinces.

According to an investigation, the soldiers were found to be in contact with FETO members via payphone.

Meanwhile, Istanbul's Public Prosecutor Office also issued arrest warrants for 60 suspects as part of a probe into FETO’s infiltration into the Turkish Armed Forces.

As many as 19 retired soldiers of Turkish air and land forces commands, nine ‘covert imams,’ and 32 students of a military school that has been shut down are among the suspects.

They were found to be in touch with their terror affiliates via fixed-line and payphones.

Police have launched Istanbul-centered simultaneous operations in eight provinces to arrest the suspects.

As many as 23 arrest warrants were also issued by the Edirne Public Prosecutor's Office for 23 FETO suspects as part of a probe into FETO’s crypto structure.

The suspects included dismissed inspectors, police commissioners, academics, military personnel, lawyers, and officers and commissioners on active duty.

Police teams in 13 provinces have initiated operations to round up the suspects.