FBI targeting FETO in the US: Turkish foreign minister

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The FBI has launched nationwide operations against FETO, the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, said Turkey’s foreign minister on Monday.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that FBI started to see the true nature of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

"There is a serious investigation into FETO launched by the FBI in 15 states," said Cavusoglu.

He added: "Moreover, arrests started in some states, including New Jersey."

Cavusoglu said that during the recent G20 summit in Argentina, U.S. President Donald Trump told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that they are working to extradite FETO leader Fetullah Gulen to Turkey from his longtime U.S. residence in the state of Pennsylvania.

Turkey has long complained of U.S. inaction in failing to extradite Gulen.

FETO and 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.

FETO has a considerable presence abroad, including private schools serving as a revenue stream for the terror group, many of them in U.S. states.

FETO schools in the U.S. have faced legal challenges of financial mismanagement, misappropriation of public funds, and abusing the immigration process.

As of 2017 FETO operated 136 charter schools in 28 states, and used more than $2.1 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars since 2010, according to CBS News in the U.S.