Coup attempt plan to pound key Turkish state buildings with high-tech device failed, testimony shows

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

A plan to pound key state buildings in Ankara with help from a laser-designating and rangefinder device (LİMÖS) on the night of the July 15 coup attempt failed when an anti-coup soldier shot dead a pro-coup general who was responsible for the plot. 

The plan, which was revealed on Sept. 5 during the testimony of Major Fatih Şahin, a pro-coup soldier who was also involved in the plot, was going to be orchestrated by Brigadier General Semih Terzi. Şahin reportedly said Terzi was going to partner with him in order to hit crucial state institutions in Ankara with jets based on categorization using specific colors for their buildings. 

Buildings of the Police Special Operations Headquarters, the Ankara Police Department and the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) were designated as the most important buildings to be struck and thus placed in the “red” category. The parliament building, the satellite network TÜRKSAT, the Presidential Palace, the Prime Ministry’s Çankaya Mansion, and a number of other buildings, were all listed as sites of secondary strategic importance in the “orange” category. 

The plan was due to be carried out after Terzi’s arrival from Diyarbakır to Ankara with Şahin, who was asked to bring the LİMOS with him to identify the designated buildings to be hit by pro-coup soldiers’ jets.  
 
However, the plan failed after Terzi was shot by Halisdemir and when the soldier who was assigned to use the LİMOS took sides with the anti-coup soldiers.

Meanwhile, 120 more people were detained on Oct. 7 as part of a probe into the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, believed to be behind the July 15 coup attempt. The 120 individuals were detained after it was found that they used the encrypted ByLock messaging application, thought to be used exclusively by the group’s members. 

Detention orders were issued for a total of 166 people and anti-smuggling police conducted simultaneous operations in 35 provinces across Turkey, including 26 districts in Istanbul, early on Oct. 7. The targeted security personnel included police chiefs and officers identified as having used the ByLock app, allegedly developed by Gülenists at the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).

Among the 166 individuals targeted by detention orders were 13 police chiefs, 39 police officers, and 114 high-ranking officers.