Turkey nabs over 160 wanted FETÖ terror suspects

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

At least 166 people with suspected links to FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, were detained in countrywide raids, authorities said on April 26. 

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul issued detention warrants for 258 suspects, including 216 active-duty military personnel, as part of a probe into the terror group’s infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The suspects were found to be involved in intra-organizational communication via payphones or fixed lines through confessions.

The 166 suspects were detained in Istanbul-based operations conducted simultaneously in 66 cities across Turkey as well as in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Efforts are underway to arrest the remaining suspects.

Meanwhile, an operation against the infiltration of FETÖ in the Turkish Armed Forces has been launched to detain 532 suspects across Turkey, a security source said Monday.

Later in the day, Turkey detained 400 of the 532 suspects, sources said.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara 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.