FETO-linked police commissioner detained in SE Turkey

By Yilmaz Ekinci

BATMAN, Turkey (AA) – A Turkish police commissioner linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) was detained on Friday, a police source said.

Ahmet Duran Bitmez was captured on Friday in northern Iraq in a joint operation by Turkish and Iraqi security forces, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with media.

Bitmez was detained by a Turkish court after his testimony in the prosecution office, the source added.

Bitmez, who worked in security directorate of Batman province in Turkey's southeast, fled to northern Iraq to allegedly take shelter with the PKK terrorist organization after July 15 coup attempt.

Turkey's government says the coup attempt, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen who has lived in self-imposed exile in U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999.