ANKARA

Two suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, arrested over the last week in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were brought back to Turkey on Thursday.

Wanted with arrest warrants for membership in the FETO terror group, Ismail Okkali and Ayse Ozalp were arrested on March 17 and 24, respectively, in a joint operation conducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and its Security General Directorate.

Okkali allegedly provided housing for covert FETO infiltrators of the Turkish Armed Forces.

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 Dilan Pamuk in Ankara