By Sarp Ozer, Halil Demir and Hakan Mehmet Sahin
ANKARA/EDIRNE/ISTANBUL, Turkey (AA) – Turkish security forces arrested at least 11 suspects over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, authorities said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the National Defense Ministry said border forces arrested eight FETO suspects in the northwestern Edirne province while they were trying to flee to Greece. The suspects were turned over to the local gendarmerie teams for legal procedure.
Also in Edirne, police arrested a couple during regular traffic control over their suspected links to FETO. They were later remanded by a court order.
In Istanbul, police nabbed a former senior police officer Naci. O in a raid to a secret FETO house in the Umraniye district. Police were seeking the suspect for using ByLock, the terror group's encrypted smartphone messaging app, and being a member of FETO.
The 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.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Since the coup attempt, tens of thousands of FETO suspects have been arrested, including many in the armed forces, police, judicial system, and education sector.
*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk