Turkey nabs 41 illegally crossing into Syria, Greece

ANKARA

Turkish security authorities nabbed 41 people as they were attempting to cross into Syria and Greece illegally, the National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said in a written statement that among them were two people affiliated with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, the PKK terror group, and a member of a radical terror group, who was hunted internationally with red notice.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 injured.

Ankara also 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.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.