UPDATE - Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 189 FETO suspects

UPDATES WITH MORE ARREST WARRANTS

By Omer Sut

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - Arrest warrants were issued Thursday for nearly 190 people over their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), according to a judicial source.

The chief public prosecutors' office in western Izmir province issued arrest warrants for 96 people including 91 suspended soldiers with the Turkish Air Forces Command, the source said on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.

Police have so far arrested 65 suspects during simultaneous raids conducted across 15 provinces, the source said, adding the operations were continuing to detain the remaining suspects.

More arrest warrants were issued in the capital Ankara for 93 former employees of a FETO-linked school which was shut down after the defeated coup attempt on July 2016.

A police operation was underway to apprehend the suspects.

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.