Over 50 FETO terror suspects arrested across Turkey

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz, Serdar Acil, Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA

At least 53 suspects, including on-duty soldiers, were arrested across Turkey for alleged links to the Terrorist Organization (FETO), police sources said on Tuesday.

In operations, based in capital Ankara, across seven provinces, police arrested 14 on-duty soldiers, including five active in National Intelligence Agency, said a police source on condition of anonymity due to the restrictions on speaking to the media.

Meanwhile, unit of Ankara police also arrested 12 former teachers in operations across Bursa, Isparta and Canakkale, and the capital, according to another source.

The suspects were accused of using , an encrypted cellphone app used by FETO members during a defeated coup in 2016.

Separately, another 27 FETO suspects were arrested in Istanbul-based operations across 17 provinces, a source said.

Out of , eight suspects were accused of being members in a financial structure of FETO, while the rest of using .

The arrests came after Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants against the suspects.

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.

*Halil Demir contributed to this report from Istanbul