ANKARA

At least 51 suspects were arrested in Turkey on Wednesday over their links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued warrants for 15 suspects, who were found to have used the terror group's encrypted messaging app ByLock.

Police arrested 12 of the suspects and the search for the rest continues.

Separately, Turkish security forces nabbed 39 suspected members of FETO.

This came after prosecutors in Ankara issued warrants for 51 suspects in connection with cheating in a police exam in 2005.

Efforts are ongoing to arrest the 12 other suspects.

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