UPDATE - 22 FETO suspects arrested in Turkey

ADDS ARREST OF 14 FETO SUSPECTS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Anadolu Agency Staff

EDIRNE, BALIKESIR, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces arrested 22 more people over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, security sources said on Monday.

Security forces in the northwestern province of Edirne nabbed eight suspected members of FETO who were planning to illegally cross into Greece, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Police began following a minivan coming from Istanbul.

When the suspects noticed they were being followed by the police, they tried to hide at a house in the city center, the sources added.

Turkish forces raided the house and arrested eight suspected FETO members, including dismissed police officers and teachers.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in the northwestern Balikesir province issued warrants for 26 FETO suspects.

The suspects, which include active-duty military personnel, dismissed soldiers and senior FETO members, known as “covert imams” were found to be in contact with FETO members via payphone, the sources said.

A total of 14 suspects were arrested in simultaneous operations across 17 provinces as part of the investigation launched by prosecutors in Balikesir province, said the sources, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Efforts are ongoing to track down and apprehend the remaining suspects.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 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.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz and Handan Kazanci