UPDATE 2- Turkey: 64 arrested in FETO terror probe

UPDATES WITH ARRESTS; CHANGES HEADLINE

By Safak Yel and Savas Guler

IZMIR / KONYA, Turkey (AA) – At least 64 people were arrested on Tuesday for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, judicial sources said.

The suspects in Turkey's central province of Konya were found to have communicated with "covert imams" of FETO via payphone, said the source who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media.

Also, 49 suspects in the Aegean province of Izmir were arrested for alleged financial ties to the terror group and for using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app used by FETO members, said another source.

Earlier on Monday, Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 128 FETO suspects, including 48 on-duty officers, as part of a probe into the terror group's clandestine network in the Turkish Armed Forces.

Also, security operations were carried out across 30 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.

Turkey 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 Busra Nur Bilgic