Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 30 FETO-linked suspects

By Savas Guler

KONYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 30 suspects on Tuesday over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said.

Prosecutors in the central Konya province said that 23 of the suspects were on duty soldiers.

The suspects were accused of allegedly serving as FETO's "covert imams" -- senior members of the terror group -- said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects were sought as part of a probe into FETO's clandestine network in the Turkish Armed Forces.

Police conducted simultaneous operations centered in Konya across 23 provinces.

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.

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.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar