Twenty suspects were detained yesterday in operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The Chief Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants previously for 57 suspects, and a manhunt was underway to capture the other suspects when Daily Sabah went to print.

The suspects are wanted for their communications over ByLock, an encrypted messaging app exclusively used by the terrorist group. Security forces launched operations in 14 cities to capture the suspects.

The terrorist group, which is blamed for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people, is accused of employing its infiltrators from the air, land, naval and gendarmerie forces of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to attempt to overthrow the government. The attempt failed due to a strong public resistance against the putschists, and tens of thousands of people were detained or arrested in its aftermath.

Prior to the coup attempt, Turkish intelligence discovered that FETÖ used ByLock and uncovered millions of messages, from simple greetings from the group's U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen to instructions on how to avoid detection. ByLock is believed to have been devised by developers linked to the terrorist group.