UPDATE - Turkey issues arrest warrants for 40 FETO suspects

UPDATES WITH ARREST OF FETO CONVICT

By Baris Kilic, Sertac Bulur, Mirac Kaya, and Burak Akay

ANKARA/BALIKESIR/CANAKKALE, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 40 people, over their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, according to judicial sources.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 29 people, including military staff and a civilian, over their suspected links to the FETO.

In a statement, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the police carried out anti-terror operations in 10 Turkish provinces and arrested 22 suspects.

Separately, in Turkey’s western province of Balikesir, prosecutors issued warrants for 11 FETO suspects in three Turkish provinces, including Istanbul, Izmir, and Balikesir.

Among the suspects are dismissed cadets, doctors, and private sector staff.

The suspects are accused of using ByLock, the terror group's encrypted smartphone messaging app, and being a member of FETO.

Meanwhile, in Turkey’s western province of Canakkale, a fugitive convict, who was sentenced to six years in prison for being a member of the FETO was arrested in the Can district.

Local gendarmerie teams carried out an operation on a tip that the fugitive, only identified by the initials S.D., was hiding inside a relative’s home.

The teams also arrested B.K, A.K., and H.D. for allegedly helping the fugitive.

While S.D. was sent to prison, the others were released on bail.

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.

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.