Turkey Arrests Dozens of Soldiers Over Suspected Ties to 2016 Coup Plot

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel over alleged links to the 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

According to a statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, the suspects include four colonels and members of the army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie. Security forces launched early morning raids across various provinces, detaining 56 of the targeted individuals.

The suspects are accused of ties to the outlawed Fethullahist Terror Organisation (FETO), blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup. FETO’s leader, Fethullah Gulen, a former Islamic cleric living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, died in October last year.

The 2016 coup attempt resulted in the deaths of nearly 290 people when rogue soldiers launched attacks in Ankara and Istanbul. Jet fighters bombed the Turkish parliament and presidential complex, while President Erdogan narrowly escaped assassination while vacationing on the country’s west coast.

Following the coup bid, Turkey launched a sweeping purge across state institutions. Tens of thousands were arrested, and hundreds of schools, media outlets, and businesses linked to Gulen were shut down.

The prosecutor’s office noted that the latest suspects were identified through phone records and described FETO as “the greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state.” Since 2016, Turkey has detained over 25,800 military personnel on suspicion of involvement in the coup plot.

Although Gulen denied any role in the attempted overthrow, Turkish authorities repeatedly sought his extradition from the U.S. The once-close alliance between Gulen and Erdogan fractured after the closure of Gulen-run schools and corruption probes targeting Erdogan’s inner circle.