Turkey nabs over 160 wanted FETO terror suspects

ISTANBUL

At least 166 people with suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, were arrested in countrywide raids, authorities said Monday.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for 258 suspects, including 216 active duty military personnel, as part of a probe into the terror group’s infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The suspects were found to be involved in intra-organizational communication via payphones or fixed lines through confessions.

The 166 suspects were arrested in Istanbul-based operations conducted simultaneously in 66 cities across Turkey as well as in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Efforts are underway to arrest the remaining suspects.

Meanwhile, an operation against the infiltration of FETO in the Turkish Armed Forces has been launched to arrest 532 suspects across Turkey, a security source said Monday.

Later in the day, Turkey arrested 400 of the 532 suspects, sources said.

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