UPDATE - Turkey issues arrest warrants for 346 FETO suspects

UPDATES NUMBER OF WARRANTS, ARRESTS, DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE

By Muhammed Enes Can and Omer Sur

ISTANBUL/IZMIR (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants against 346 people suspected of being linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for 271 soldiers, including 122 on-duty, as part of a probe on FETO, a source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

Turkish police launched anti-terror operations in 47 provinces across Turkey, the source added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Izmir, in western Turkey, issued arrest warrants for 75 soldiers, including 59 on-duty, another source said.

A total of 37 suspects have already been arrested in Izmir, the sources added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey 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.