Turkey police arrest 123 FETO terror suspects

IZMIR

Turkish police arrested 123 out of 157 suspects Tuesday for alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group that orchestrated the defeated coup in Turkey in 2016, security sources said.

“Turkish prosecutors in Izmir province on Turkey’s Aegean coast issued arrest warrants for 101 on-duty sergeants and 56 former soldiers who either retired, resigned or were expelled,” said sources who asked not to be identified due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The warrants were issued after the suspects were found to have communicated with members of the terror group by payphone.

Thirty-four suspects remain at large.

Izmir-based anti-terror operations against the terror group’s crypto structure in Turkish security forces have been simultaneously launched in 43 provinces, sources said.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen are accused of orchestrating 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 Davut Demircan and Burak Bir

IZMIR

The warrants were issued after the suspects were found to have communicated with members of the terror group by payphone.

Thirty-four suspects remain at large.

Izmir-based anti-terror operations against the terror group’s crypto structure in Turkish security forces have been simultaneously launched in 43 provinces, sources said.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen are accused of orchestrating 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 Davut Demircan and Burak Bir