UPDATE - Turkey issues arrest warrants for 63 FETO suspects

UPDATES WITH ARREST OF 18 SUSPECTS

By Eren Bozkurt

ADANA, Turkey (AA) – Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants Wednesday for 63 suspects over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, said security sources.

Authorities in the southern Adana province are seeking the detention of the suspects, including several dismissed police personnel in Adana, Mersin and Istanbul.

The suspects are accused of providing money and supplies to FETO and being involved in its regrouping, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The police have launched operations to arrest the suspects.

So far, 18 of them have been arrested by police; the search for others is ongoing. The arrested suspects have been referred to the local police headquarters in Adana after medical examination.

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 Ali Murat Alhas