Turkey report reveals FETO relations with PKK, Daesh

By Hatice Ozdemir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's General Command of Gendarmerie has issued a report revealing the links between the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, PKK and Daesh prior to and following the July 15 coup attempt, which left at least 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

The 28-page report was submitted Friday to a Parliamentary committee investigating the coup plot.

“An assessment of events, intelligence, intercepted radio conversations, and seized materials suggest that FETO members involved in the coup attempt could travel to regions with the help of Daesh and PKK members in order to avoid security forces,” the report said.

The FETO members then could launch – together with other terrorist groups – suicide bomb attacks, assassinations and armed attacks against Turkey, in an attempt to create chaos and internal conflict across the country, it added.

The report also shared a tip-off received by the Gendarmerie Headquarters in southeastern Sirnak province prior to the failed coup.

According to the tip-off, three Turkish citizens in northern Iraq were reportedly told by two senior PKK members in the region that US and NATO promised PKK that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be toppled in fall 2016, and either he would resign himself or be forced to leave after an "insurgence that is much stronger than the Gezi protests".

This insurgence was reportedly to be initiated by a group involving the PKK, Gulenists, and some other groups.

The report also noted a significant increase in the number of US-based cyber attacks against Turkey after July 15.

"Whereas a total of 97 cyber attacks were observed over the three and a half months prior to the attempt using U.S. IP addresses, the number of attacks increased by 4,574 percent, going up to 4,437 in the three and a half month period after the attempt," it said.

According to Turkey’s government, U.S.-based FETO leader Fetullah Gulen masterminded the coup attempt.

Ankara has also said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Daesh overran Mosul along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq, in mid-2014.

Turkey has been taking steps to crack down on Daesh ever since the group conducted a string of suicide bombings in Turkey.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015. Over 1,100 people, including over 800 security personnel and over 300 civilians, have lost their lives in PKK attacks since then. More than 4,000 security personnel and over 2,000 civilians have also been injured.