UPDATE - Turkey: Dozens of FETO suspects sought with warrants

UPDATES WITH MORE ARREST WARRANTS, NUMBER OF ARRESTS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Halil Demir, Filiz Kinik Oz, and Serdar Acil

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) – With Turkey maintaining its fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) at full pace, dozens of arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday targeting its clandestine military and financial operatives.

According to a statement by Ankara prosecutors, authorities ordered the arrest of 24 suspects affiliated with the terror group’s structure within the Land Forces Command. The bureau of terror crimes had found that the suspects contacted FETO members via payphone.

Among the suspects were an on-duty colonel, majors, captains, an officer dismissed from the military, and a retired colonel.

Meanwhile, police arrested 28 FETO suspects in an Istanbul-based operation run simultaneously across seven provinces.

The arrests came after the authorities issued arrest warrants for 40 suspects who were accused of providing financial aid for the terror group.

Security forces also confiscated several digital and organizational documents during raids.

Additionally, Turkish authorities issued arrest warrants for 44 suspects linked to the terror group's structure within the Gendarmerie Command, with 25 of them arrested so far. An operation is underway to nab the remaining suspects.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 injured.

Ankara 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 Ali Murat Alhas