UPDATE - Dozens of FETO suspects arrested across Turkey

UPDATES WITH ARRESTS IN BURSA AND ELAZIG PROVINCES; CHANGES HEADLINE, SPOT, LEDE

By Serdar Acil and Cemil Murat Budak

ANKARA (AA) - Dozens of suspects were arrested across Turkey on Wednesday for their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

In a statement, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 59 suspects, accusing them of depositing money at the FETO-affiliated Bank Asya, whose banking license was cancelled on July 22, 2016 -- seven days after the defeated coup -- by Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

Last November, an Istanbul court had declared the entity bankrupt as well.

So far, 29 suspects have been arrested during simultaneous operations across the capital.

Separately, another 14 suspects, including a senior FETO member, were arrested in northwestern Bursa-based operation across five provinces.

Some of the suspects were learned to have used FETO terror group’s encrypted messaging app and financed the terror group.

In eastern Elazig-based operation, police arrested 12 soldiers, including on-duty ones, in simultaneous operations across ten provinces, including the capital Ankara and Istanbul.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (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.