By Halil Demir
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish police arrested 18 people over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, security sources said on Friday.
The suspects were arrested in operations based in Istanbul across 10 provinces after prosecutors in the metropolis issued arrest warrants for 28 suspects. They had been found to have used the terror group's encrypted messaging app ByLock.
In the operations, large volumes of organizational documents and digital materials were seized.
Efforts are underway to track down the remaining sought individuals.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Ankara 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