2 senior FETO terror suspects nabbed in Turkey

ANKARA

Turkish security forces arrested two senior members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a security source said on Wednesday.

Police teams arrested the suspects, who were wanted since 2016, in an operation in the Etimesgut district of the capital Ankara, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A suspect, identified only by the initials K.M. is accused of being in charge of military students in the terror group, while the other suspect, identified by the initials Y.M., is accused of being in charge of the students in Higher Education Student Loan and Housing Board.

The suspects are also accused of using ByLock, the terror group's encrypted smartphone messaging app.

Many organizational documents, large amounts of money, credit cards registered in the name of different persons, and fake identity cards were seized during the operation.

It was also determined that the house, from where the suspects were caught, was used by the members of the organization as a center for obtaining false identity cards.

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.

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.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan