Turkish special forces stand guard at the entrance of the courthouse on January 23, 2017 at Silivri district in Istanbul. Trial starts of soldiers accused of trying to block Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport during the failed coup of July 2016. / AFP / YAS
ANKARA: More than 1,600 terror suspects were arrested in Turkey last week, the Interior Ministry said Monday.
They included 1,218 suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) held responsible for the attempted coup in July, 372 PKK suspects and 75 Daesh suspects, according to a statement.
Turkey has been hit by more than a dozen bomb and gun attacks since July 2015 that have resulted in hundreds of deaths. The terror attacks were usually claimed or attributed to the PKK or Daesh. The coup attempt saw at least 248 people martyred.
In its statement, the ministry said a total of 228 operations were conducted against the PKK, in which five terror suspects were killed and one injured. Of the 372 arrested, 36 were held in custody pending trial.
Four improvised explosive devices and 48 shelters were destroyed by the Gendarmerie across southeast Turkey.
The statement said 572 of the FETO suspects were remanded in custody and one of the 75 suspected Daesh members was held for trial.
