UPDATE - Turkey: 25 arrested over links to FETO terror group

UPDATES WITH TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRESTS OVER PAY PHONE SINCE 2016 DEFEATED COUP

By Cemil Murat Budak, Baris Kilic and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Friday arrested some 25 people for suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated deadly coup in Turkey, according to a security source.

Prosecutors in Ankara had issued arrest warrants for a lieutenant and 48 sergeants, who were found to have periodically and successively communicated with FETO’s "covert imams" -- senior operatives -- via pay phones, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The operations in 22 provinces so far resulted in catching 25 of the suspects.

The suspects include 46 on-duty, two dismissed soldiers and a retired soldier, the source added.

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.

Since the 2016 deadly coup attempt, prosecutors have found out that nearly 14,500 people used pay phones to communicate with the senior members of FETO.

Around 13,500 of them were arrested in over 800 operations across the country.

Some 5,000 of the detainees have been remanded in custody, while nearly 8,500 suspects were released, including those under judicial control.