FETO suspect phoned Pennsylvania during coup attempt

By Baris Kilic and Serdar Acil

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish security units have found cell phones dumped near an airbase in capital Ankara which belong to two key Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) suspects.

The cell phones at Akinci airbase belong to Kemal Batmaz and Hakan Cicek, second-in command and leading figure respectively, of the group which attempted to overthrow the government in a deadly coup attempt in 2016.

The investigation was part of the Akinci airbase trial, a major trial linked to the coup bid.

In a report compiled by security forces, Cicek contacted a suspect located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania named "Eczaci Abdi (Pharmacist Abdi)" on his phone contact list, immediately before the coup attempt, and spoke to him for three minutes and 51 seconds via FaceTime application.

The IT specialists also found out that Cicek spoke to Esat Turkoglu, son of key FETO figure Cevdet Turkoglu, in the U.S. for 35 seconds.

Cicek later text messaged a suspect named "Hkn Ada Avukat", who lives in the same housing complex as FETO leader Fetullah Gulen in the U.S.

The report said: "It was found that the suspect requested instant communication with terror group leader Fetullah Gulen from 'Eczaci Abdi' on July 15."

It also included Cicek's messages for Gulen and a report about the coup attempt on the same night.

Investigations revealed that cell phone records of Batmaz showed his contacts with FETO suspects, who are either fugitives or standing trial.

Another cellphone, whose user is yet to be identified, had browsing records of the hotel where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was at on the night of the coup attempt.

At Akinci, north of the capital Ankara -- renamed Murted after the defeated coup -- coup plotters had established a command center to coordinate attacks, including fighter jets that attacked the parliament and the presidential complex.

The FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara has also said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.