Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 74 FETO-linked suspects

BALIKESIR/KONYA, Turkey

Turkish prosecutors in western and central provinces issued arrest warrants for 74 suspects on Tuesday over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said.

Prosecutors in the western Balikesir province said arrest warrants were issued for 24 suspects who were government and police officials on duty.

The suspects were accused of allegedly serving as FETO's "covert imams" -- senior members of the terror group -- police and judiciary organizations, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Police conducted simultaneous operations across 11 provinces.

Separately, prosecutors in the central Konya province issued arrest warrants for 50 suspects for their alleged links to the terror group’s secret structure within the Turkish Armed Forces.

The Konya-based simultaneous operations were carried out in 22 provinces across Turkey.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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 Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Burak Bir from Ankara.