Turkey: 203 suspects arrested for FETO links

IZMIR/ KONYA/KOCAELI/GAZIANTEP, Turkey

Turkish authorities arrested at least 203 suspects for alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the western Izmir province issued warrants for 238 suspects as part of a probe into the terror group's infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects, including 218 on active duty, are accused of regularly communicating with FETO via pay phone.

A total of 173 suspects were arrested in simultaneous operations across 60 provinces in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Separately, prosecutors in central Konya province issued warrants for eight suspects, said a security source.

Gendarmerie forces arrested seven suspects in four provinces, it added.

Police also arrested 10 suspects in five provinces after prosecutors in northwestern Kocaeli issued warrants for 11 suspects.

The hunt for the remaining suspect continues, it added.

Also, the gendarmerie command in the southeastern Gaziantep province arrested one FETO suspect, acting on a tip, a security source said.

The suspect, who was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, was arrested in the Suleymanobasi neighborhood in Yavuzeli district.

The suspect, identified only by initials A.P., was referred to the gendarmerie station.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah 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.

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Gozde Bayar in Ankara