DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

At least 12 suspects were arrested on Friday for their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

This came after prosecutors in the southeastern Diyarbakir issued arrest warrants for 15 suspects for being in contact with senior members of the terror group, said a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A total of 12 out 15 suspects, including an active-duty soldier, were arrested by the police’s anti-terrorism branch. A hunt for the remaining three suspects is underway.

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