Turkey: Police arrest more than 20 FETO-linked suspects

By Kemal Karagoz, Vedat Yucebas and Turan Kazak

TEKIRDAG, Turkey (AA) – Turkish police on Friday arrested 22 people across the country over their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security officials said.

One suspect was arrested each in northwestern Tekirdag and western Izmir provinces, while six more were arrested in southeastern Adiyaman province, said the officials, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Additionally, police arrested 12 former teachers from five different provinces as part of the central Aksaray-based operation.

In the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir, police also arrested two persons over their alleged links to the FETO.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 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.