ISTANBUL 

Turkish security forces arrested 60 suspects Friday for their alleged links to FETO, the terror group behind the defeated coup in 2016 in Turkey.

An Istanbul prosecutor said that 60 suspects have been arrested in a nationwide counter-terror operation as arrest warrants had been already out for 126 FETO suspects over an ongoing probe in the judiciary.

The 126 suspects -- including 108 lawyers -- are suspected of hiding at FETO safe houses in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

The police are looking for the rest of the suspects.

Eight arrested for ByLock use

In a separate police operation in Ankara, eight engineers, who used to work for a major Turkish defense contractor, were arrested by police for using ByLock, an encrypted cellphone application used by FETO coup plotters.

Ankara prosecutors previously issued arrest warrants for 18 suspects, former employees of the defense contractor for using the encrypted application.

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 Can Erozden