The Istanbul Office of the Chief Prosecutor announced Tuesday that it had issued arrest warrants for 33 suspects linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and 25 suspects were detained in police operations in eight provinces.
The arrest warrants were issued in relation to an investigation into the terrorist group’s secret network in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The 33 suspects include 1 officer-on-duty, 1 noncommissioned officer, 29 expelled military personnel, 1 expelled teacher and 1 private sector employee who were identified to be using the terrorist group's confidential communication method.
Meanwhile in the central Konya province, three of the 11 suspects detained in the operation against the FETÖ secret network within the TSK were arrested.
The terrorist group that perpetrated the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, faced fresh scrutiny after the putsch bid. Tens of thousands of people were detained, arrested or expelled from their public sector jobs for their links to FETÖ. Investigations revealed that the group ran a scheme to infiltrate the TSK throughout the decades, owing its infiltration success to disguised tactics and well-organized cells.
Even five years after the coup attempt, new investigations continue to uncover more infiltrators within the army. Earlier this month, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, who was taken hostage during the 2016 coup attempt while serving as chief of general staff, had announced that 23,582 people were expelled from the TSK over FETÖ links.
