By Serdar Acil and Tanju Ozkaya
ANKARA (AA) - At least 31 suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, have been arrested in the capital Ankara, a judicial source said Monday.
The arrests were carried out as part of an investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office which issued arrest warrants for some 60 suspects at the Turkish Air Force -- including four colonels and eight pilots, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The arrest warrants were issued for allegedly having contact to the "covert imams" of FETO by payphone, the source added.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah 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.