Turkey nabs 22 FETO terror suspects trying to flee to Greece

MUGLA / EDIRNE, Turkey

Turkey nabbed 22 people with suspected ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) while they were attempting to flee the country, according to security sources on Monday.

The suspects were arrested during an attempt to cross into Greece, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Some 10 suspects and their two handlers of illegal smuggling were held by the provincial anti-smuggling and organized crime police teams and the Turkish Coast Guard while embarking on a boat on the Datca peninsula, in waters off the western Mugla province.

Also, seven suspects preparing to escape were caught by troops in the northwestern Edirne province, near the Turkey-Greece border.

Provincial anti-terror police teams stopped a car in Havsa district after determining that seven people in the vehicle were FETO suspects and were preparing to flee to Greece illegally.

Separately, five FETO suspects were also held in Edirne while trying to illegally escape to same neighboring country.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed 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.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara