Turkey: Arrest warrants issued for 176 FETO suspects

By Yusuf Soykan Bal

IZMIR (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants Tuesday for 176 suspects over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), said security sources.

According to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor in the city of Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast, 108 on-duty soldiers are among the suspects being sought, including a pilot lieutenant and four district gendarmerie commanders as well as 68 former soldiers who either retired, resigned or were expelled.

Izmir-based anti-terror operations have been simultaneously launched in 49 provinces.

The arrest warrants were issued after the suspects were found to have communicated with members of the terror group by payphone.

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 Havva Kara Aydin