14 FETÖ-linked terror suspects arrested across Turkey

Security forces arrested 14 suspects across Turkey on Wednesday over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, according to security sources.

In counterterrorism operations based in southeastern Diyarbakir province, police arrested 14 suspects -- the so-called “covert imams” of the terror group -- across 15 provinces, said the sources on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The arrests came after the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Diyarbakir issued arrest warrants for 27 suspects.

Police seized numerous digital materials during the operations, the source said, adding search is underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred 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.