Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 88 FETO-linked suspects

By Ali Korkmaz

IZMIR (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 88 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 to were expelled.

The 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.

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.