Police detains at least 151 FETÖ terror suspects

İZMİR-Anadolu Agency

Turkish police on Jan. 14 detained at least 151 people for suspected links to the FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said.

The detentions came after the country's prosecutors issued detention warrants for 237suspects.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the western province of İzmir issued warrants for 108 serving soldiers, including a lieutenant pilot and four district gendarmerie commanders as well as 68 former soldiers who either retired, resigned or were expelled.

İzmir-based anti-terror operations were launched simultaneously in 49 provinces and so far, 115 suspects were detained by Turkish police forces.

Separately, prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued detention warrants for 31 suspects for their alleged links to the FETÖ infiltration into the armed forces.

The warrants were issued after suspects were found to have communicated with members of the terror group by payphone.

So far, police detained 22 suspects in Ankara-based operations.

Meanwhile, detention warrants were also issued by prosecutors in Konya for 30 suspects, including 24 on active-duty soldiers, and 14 suspects were detained in simultaneous operations across 20 provinces.

Police are on the lookout for the remaining suspects.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt 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.