A major of Turkish descent serving in the U.S. Army has close ties with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), responsible for the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, a Turkish newspaper reported on Thursday. N.G. (identified only by his initials), the brother of a Turkish man convicted of having ties to the terrorist group, is a bioterrorism expert and chief of the Analytical Toxicology Division of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense.
Quoting Turkish intelligence reports, Hürriyet newspaper reported that N.G. was in touch with Fetullah Gülen, FETÖ's leader who currently lives in Pennsylvania, as well as other senior figures of the terrorist group. The terrorist group is notorious for acting in secrecy and helping its loyal members infiltrate the Turkish army, which ultimately led to the 2016 coup bid. Since the coup attempt, Turkish security forces have been carrying out operations to weed out the infiltrators of FETÖ in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), law enforcement, judiciary and other public institutions. It is unclear whether N.G. shared critical information related to his work in the U.S. Army to FETÖ members, but the terrorist group already stands accused of obtaining information regarding critical institutions in Turkey, including the army through its infiltrators.
N.G. last visited Turkey in 2012, according to the newspaper. His brother E.G. was arrested following the 2016 coup attempt on charges of membership of the terrorist group. He was accused of running a branch of FETÖ in the eastern province of Erzurum, the hometown of Fetullah Gülen. In 2017, E.G. was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. E.G. was a former employee of Zaman newspaper and Cihan News Agency, two mouthpieces of the terrorist group that were shut down for their ties to FETÖ. He was also accused of contacting the terrorist group's infiltrators in the police to prevent investigations into fellow FETÖ members.
The United States is among the countries Ankara has pressed for the extradition of the terrorist group's members, primarily Gülen. Despite multiple requests since the 2016 putsch bid, Washington has stalled the process, according to Turkish officials. Gülen had arrived in the U.S. in 1999 and currently resides in a posh compound run by a foundation loyal to the group, in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. The compound is also home to other senior figures of the terrorist group.
FETÖ has a considerable presence internationally, particularly in the U.S., including private schools that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group. Several prominent figures linked to the group had fled to the country following terrorism investigations in Turkey, including journalists from Zaman and former footballer Hakan Şükür. The family of Adil Öksüz, a prominent figure of the terrorist group, also lives in New Jersey where they settled before the putsch bid. Öksüz remains at large and his whereabouts are unknown.