Two key FETÖ terrorists brought from Azerbaijan, Ukraine to Turkey

Two more alleged senior Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) members were brought back to Turkey from abroad as part of operations against the terror group, security sources said on Thursday.

Isa Özdemir, who was apprehended in Azerbaijan, and Salih Zeki Yiğit, in Ukraine, have been brought to Istanbul by private plane on Thursday afternoon following operations conducted by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Özdemir and Yiğit are suspected of being members of an armed terror organization.

According to the sources, Özdemir, who studied at Baku State University, was reportedly responsible for the terror group's finances.

And, Yiğit was an alleged imam of the terror group in the southern Mersin province. He was allegedly involved in money transfers. He fled abroad after the defeated July 15 coup attempt in 2016.

Turkish intelligence officers last March had brought six alleged senior FETÖ members back to Turkey following operations against the terror group’s branch in the Balkans, according to security sources.

In cooperation with Kosovar intelligence, Turkey’s MIT arrested the six men, who were said to be in charge of getting FETÖ members out of Turkey to go to Europe and the U.S.

According to the Turkish government, FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of 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.

Turkey has brought back 80 FETÖ members from abroad so far, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech in April.