UPDATE - Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 95 FETO-linked suspects

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARREST WARRANTS

By Savas Guler, Serdar Acil and Baris Kilic

ANKARA/KONYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants for 95 people for their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Konya issued 60 arrest warrants as part of an ongoing probe into the group's infiltration of the Turkish army, said a police source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects are accused of being “imams” of the terror group and communicating with on-duty soldiers.

Police carried out simultaneous raids in 26 provinces to arrest the suspects, the source added.

Separately, prosecutors in the Turkish capital Ankara also issued arrest warrants for 35 personnel, including 10 on duty, of Turkish Naval Forces.

In a statement, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Ankara said the suspects are accused of communicating with FETO imams through payphones.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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.