UPDATES WITH OPERATIONS IN RIZE, EDIRNE; CHANGES TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRESTS, LEDE, DECK
By Emrah Yasar, Muhittin Sandikci and Ilker Gurel
ESKISEHIR / RIZE / EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) – Security forces arrested a total of 11 suspects linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) across Turkey, a security source said on Friday.
Seven suspects were arrested in a police raid on a house in the center of Eskisehir, central Turkey, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Three suspects were remanded in custody by a court, while the other suspects were granted conditional bail.
Three more suspects were nabbed by security forces in the Black Sea province of Rize in a raid to arrest four suspects as part of an operation against “covert imams,” i.e. senior FETO members who infiltrated the Turkish military.
One of the suspects was remanded, while the other two were released on bail with an international travel ban.
The fugitive sought by an arrest warrant was found out to be abroad.
Another FETO suspect who was plotting to flee to Greece through illegal means was arrested while hiding in a derelict building in the northwestern Edirne province, which borders Greece.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred 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 Dilan Pamuk and Gozde Bayar in Ankara