12 April 2018•Update: 13 April 2018
IZMIR, Turkey
Turkish police on Thursday arrested 58 suspects for their alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), security sources said.
The sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said 34 suspects were arrested after the Chief Public Prosecutors' Office in western Izmir issued arrest warrants for 53 people as part of a probe into the terror group and its suspected infiltration of the country’s military.
The police launched a nationwide operation in order to apprehend the suspects, including on-duty soldiers, who have been accused of being linked to the terrorist group.
The suspects are sought across 24 provinces of Turkey.
Meanwhile, some 24 out of 45 suspects were arrested as part of a probe by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutors' Office.
The suspects were accused of allegedly using the ByLock messaging app, an encrypted smart phone app used by the FETO members before and during the defeated coup.
The Fetullah Terrorist Organization and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 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 Omer Sut:Writing by Kubra Chohan
