UPDATES NUMBER OF ARRESTS, ADDS DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE AND LEDE
By Ali Korkmaz, Mirac Kaya, Ugur Ulu, Haydar Toprakcı, Rauf Maltas
IZMIR/BALIKESIR/TUNCELI/BURSA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 145 suspects on Friday over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said.
According to the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor in Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, among the suspects sought with arrest warrants were 40 on-duty soldiers, as well as 21 former soldiers either retired, resigned or were expelled.
A total of 88 suspects were sought as part of a probe into FETO's clandestine network in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The arrest warrants were issued after the suspects were found to have communicated with the terror group members via pay phone.
So far, police arrested 52 suspects in simultaneous operations across 33 provinces.
In a separate operation, police officers arrested 13 suspects in western Balikesir province.
Police officers issued arrest warrants for 17 active-duty senior soldiers in western Bursa-based operations and 14 of them were arrested so far.
In eastern Tunceli-based operation, police officers issued arrest warrants for 10 suspects, including active-duty police officers and soldiers.
In another operation based in southeastern Sanliurfa province, 12 suspects were arrested by police officers.
Also, five active-duty soldiers were arrested in eastern Erzincan-based operations.
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.
*Writing by Dilara Hamit, Havva Kara Aydin