UPDATE - Turkey arrests 47 more FETO suspects

UPDATES NUMBER OF ARRESTS

By Savas Guler

KONYA, Turkey (AA) - At least 47 people were arrested in Turkey over their links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said Monday.

In central Konya province, 15 people were arrested over FETO links, said a source, who refused to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The arrests came following an investigation, launched on March 29, into the terror group's structure within the military.

Last Thursday, Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Konya issued arrest warrants for 70 on-duty soldiers and “imams” -- suspected senior figures within FETO responsible for coordinating cells within the armed forces -- in 38 provinces.

A total of 42 suspects were arrested on March 29, the source said, adding Monday’s detentions have raised the number of arrests to 57.

Later on Monday, Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bartin said that the remaining 13 suspects were arrested in operations carried out in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Kocaeli, Bursa, Hakkari, Antalya, Konya, and Samsun.

Separately, the police also arrested 18 FETO suspects including former executives of Hacettepe Teknokent, a technocity in the capital Ankara, a judicial source said on Monday.

Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara said in a statement that the suspects were arrested in Ankara, Istanbul, Kocaeli, and Bursa.

Meanwhile, in Turkey’s southeastern province of Sirnak, head of recruiting office in Idil district was arrested over FETO links, a security source said.

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

* Yalcin Celen in Bartin, Berat Bastug in Sirnak contributed to this story.