19 active soldiers arrested over suspected FETO links

ANKARA

A total of 19 suspects were arrested in counterterrorism operations across Turkey for their alleged links to the Terror Organization (FETO), the terrorist group behind 2016 defeated coup attempt in Turkey, police sources said Saturday.

An arrest warrant had been issued for some 20 soldiers by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara.

The soldiers -- all serving lieutenants -- are suspected of communicating with "covert imams" of FETO.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 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.

Reporting by Kemal Karadag; Writing by Sibel Ugurlu