UPDATE - Turkey: 115 FETO terror suspects arrested

UPDATES NUMBER OF ARRESTS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Yusuf Soykan Bal and Efsun Erbalaban Yilmaz

IZMIR (AA) - Turkish police on Tuesday arrested at least 115 people for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said.

The arrests came after the country's prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 176 suspects.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the western province of Izmir issued warrants for 108 serving soldiers, including a lieutenant pilot and four district gendarmerie commanders as well as 68 former soldiers who either retired, resigned or were expelled.

Izmir-based anti-terror operations were launched simultaneously in 49 provinces.

The arrest warrants were issued after suspects were found to have communicated with members of the terror group by payphone.

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.

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 Havva Kara Aydin and Burak Dag