Total of 23 FETO suspects arrested in Turkey

YALOVA, Turkey

A total of 23 FETO suspects have been arrested across Turkey over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt in the country, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

The suspects were arrested during simultaneous operations conducted in Yalova, Bursa, Erzurum, Istanbul, Sakarya, Samsun and Kocaeli provinces, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to media restrictions.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz