Authorities in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul issued detention warrants for 16 suspects and captured another six in operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Tuesday. Operations targeted the group’s infiltrators in the army and those who eluded capture earlier.
In Ankara, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office sought the arrest of 16 suspects involved in a network of FETÖ members in the Land Forces Command branch of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The terrorist group carried out the July 15, 2016 coup attempt thanks to its infiltrators in the army, from low-rank officers to generals. At least 251 people were killed resisting the coup, which ultimately failed.
Those sought in Ankara were part of the “secret services” branch of the group, which handles the infiltrators in the army. They are identified through their contacts, civilian handlers and through public pay phones, a method commonly employed by the group to avoid detection. Among the wanted suspects were one handler, one on-duty officer, eight officers who were either retired or expelled from the army earlier, and six officers who were sacked for their possible affiliation with FETÖ. Operations are underway to capture the suspects.
In another operation based in Istanbul, six FETÖ suspects were detained in operations in four provinces. Suspects were identified after the capture of another suspect who was sentenced in absentia for membership of the terrorist group in a case. Examining the suspect’s contacts, authorities discovered the identities of eight suspects working for the revival of the terrorist group, which lost its clout thanks to numerous large-scale operations by security forces after the coup attempt. Security forces also discovered that two suspects, who remain at large, were involved in delivering money to cash-strapped members of the terrorist group, through deciphering their correspondence over Bylock, an encrypted messaging app, developed and exclusively used by FETÖ.
Also on Tuesday, the governorate of Edirne, a northwestern Turkish province bordering Greece, said eight suspects wanted for FETÖ membership were captured as they attempted to cross into Greece.
Greece, Türkiye’s neighbor, is home to some 20,000 members of the group who took refuge there after the 2016 coup attempt. Due to its proximity to Türkiye and tolerant attitude toward FETÖ members, Greece, at odds with Türkiye on several issues, became a hub for the terrorist group’s fugitives.
