180 FETÖ terror suspects nabbed across Turkey

İZMİR/ANKARA

Turkey on Feb. 18 detained 180 suspected members of the FETÖ, the group behind the defeated coup attempt of 2016, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Fifty of the detainees are part of a group of 71 FETÖ members who infiltrated the Justice Ministry sought by warrants in a 15-city operation ordered by prosecutors in the capital Ankara, Anadolu Agency cited sources as saying.

Also, as part of a probe-based in the Aegean province of İzmir against FETÖ infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), 101 of 157 suspects, including active-duty personnel, were captured by security authorities.

Additionally, 29 other suspects were arrested in Ankara as part of an operation investigating the terror group's infiltration of the Turkish Land Forces Command.

Security authorities also issued arrest warrants for 467 other suspects believed to have illegally obtained 2009 police promotion exam questions.

Prosecutors accuse the terror group of stealing exam questions to help FETÖ members infiltrate state organizations.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.