7 FETO terror-linked suspects nabbed across Turkey

By Salih Baran and Muzahim Zahid Tuzun

EDIRNE/KAYSERI, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces on Wednesday arrested at least seven people for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, officials and security sources said.

Prosecutors in the northwestern province of Edirne issued arrest warrants for four suspects, who were then arrested in simultaneous operations in Istanbul.

Separately, Gendarmerie forces conducted operations in the central Kayseri province, arresting three convicted FETO fugitives who had been sentenced to over six years each in prison, the provincial governor’s office said.

The FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 wounded.

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 Seda Sevencan in Istanbul