By Ilkan Toprak
BALIKESIR, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 24 suspects across the country over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said Tuesday.
Local police in northwestern Balikesir province carried out simultaneous operations in 21 cities against the infiltration of the FETO terror group into the Turkish Armed Forces, said a source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The suspects are accused of communicating with senior FETO members by payphone.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Turkey 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 Erdogan Cagatay Zontur