UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARRESTS, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, DECK, MINOR EDITS
By Emre Ayvaz
SAKARYA, Turkey (AA) – At least 25 people were arrested in Turkey for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a security source said on Thursday.
Prosecutors in the northwestern Sakarya province issued arrest warrants for 29 suspects, said the source on the condition of anonymity.
Anti-terror police teams apprehended 25 of the suspects in operations in 10 different provinces, with efforts on to track down the remaining ones, the insider added.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Turkey 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.