39 FETO terror suspects arrested in Turkey

ISTANBUL / ANKARA / KOCAELI, Turkey

Turkish security forces arrested 39 suspects for alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, authorities said on Tuesday.

At least 50 arrest warrants were issued by prosecutors.

Eight were detained in operations carried out simultaneously in four provinces, including Istanbul. The hunt continues for seven suspects.

Separately, prosecutors in the nation’s capital Ankara issued warrants for 40 suspects -- including 33 students expelled from military institutions -- as part of the investigation into FETO's "covert structuring" in Turkey's Land Forces Command and Gendarmerie General Command.

They were found to be in touch with terror affiliates via fixed-line and payphones, according to a statement by the Chief Prosecutor's Office.

During Ankara-centered operations in 13 provinces, 26 suspects were nabbed, it added.

Operations to arrest the remaining suspects are underway.

Meanwhile, warrants were issued by Ankara prosecutors for 10 FETO suspects in eight provinces for "leaking" questions on the gendarmerie sergeancy exams in 2012.

Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor Office said an investigation was initiated after it was determined that suspects accessed exam questions beforehand and distributed them to members of the FETO organization.

Also, police in northwestern Kocaeli province said five suspects were arrested in simultaneous operations in three provinces.

FETO and its US-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the July 15, 2016, defeated coup that 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.