Turkey: More than 200 soldiers sought for FETO links

ISTANBUL/ANKARA

Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for over 200 active serving soldiers for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said Friday.

An Istanbul prosecutor issued warrants for the 210 soldiers as part of a probe into the organization’s clandestine network in the Turkish Armed Forces, according to sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects include colonels, lieutenant colonels, commanders and sergeants from Land Forces, Air Forces, Naval Forces, Gendarmerie Command and Coast Guard Command, the sources said.

Police conducted simultaneous operations to nab the suspects.

Separately, an Ankara prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 41 FETO suspects, who allegedly cheated in a 2009 police college exam by getting exam questions in advance and enrolled in a police college.

Twelve out of the 41 suspects have been arrested so far in the operations conducted in 13 provinces. A manhunt was underway for the others.

FETO and its U.S.-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 Nilay Kar Onum