Turkey arrests 100 FETO terror suspects

By Yusuf Soykan Bal

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - At least 100 suspects have been arrested for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, a security source said Tuesday.

The suspects are accused of having contact with "covert imams” -- senior FETO members -- by payphone, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects, including active duty members of the Turkish Armed Forces, were arrested in an Izmir-based police operation launched across 56 provinces.

A hunt for the remaining suspects is underway by the provincial security directorate and gendarmerie command teams in the Aegean province of Izmir.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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 Gozde Bayar