Turkish forces arrest 5 FETO-linked suspects

KONYA, Turkey

Turkish forces arrested five suspects on Monday over links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

This came after prosecutors in the central province of Konya issued arrest warrants for six suspects for being “covert imams” -- senior FETO members plotting infiltration into the Turkish Armed Forces, said a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In the Konya-based operations conducted in six cities simultaneously, five of the suspects were arrested.

Police are on the lookout for the remaining suspect.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara