UPDATE - Turkey arrests 18 FETO terror suspects

UPDATES WITH ARRESTS

By Yusuf Koyun and Omer Yildiz

ADANA, Turkey (AA) - At least 18 suspects were arrested in Turkey for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in the country, security sources said on Monday.

Earlier, Turkish prosecutors in southern Adana province issued arrest warrants for 24 suspects after they were found to be using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, and for contacting terror affiliates via payphone, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The provincial anti-smuggling and organized crime teams carried out simultaneous raids in Adana, Karaman, Ankara, Yozgat, Mersin, Kocaeli, and Istanbul provinces in the early morning.

At least 18 suspects, including dismissed police officers, as well as on-duty nurses were arrested in raids.

The operation continued to hunt the remaining six suspects.

FETO and its US-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.

* Writing by Fahri Aksut and Jeyhun Aliyev in Ankara