UPDATE 2- Anti-FETO operations begin across 17 Turkish provinces

UPDATES NUMBER OF ARRESTS, REVISES DECK; ADDS FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT SUSPECTS

By Filiz Kinik and Halil Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 45 suspects linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY) were arrested during nationwide counterterrorism operations on Wednesday, according to a police source.

The operations were carried out across 17 provinces, including capital Ankara and western Izmir province after the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for 111 suspects.

The Istanbul-based operations were conducted as part of a probe into managers, members and employees of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, also known as the JWF, whose honorary president was FETO leader Fetullah Gulen.

The organization was shut down following the last year's July 15 defeated coup that left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Gulen himself and the former editor-in-chief of FETO-linked Zaman newspaper, Ekrem Dumanli as well as other senior figures of FETO are among the suspects for whom arrest warrants have been issued.

FETO and the terror group's leader Gulen orchestrated last year's defeated coup attempt in Turkey.

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