ANKARA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for suspects allegedly linked to the Gulen movement's covert network within the country's foreign ministry, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.
The warrants cover six former foreign ministry personnel dismissed due to their links to the network, eight still working at the ministry, and one from another institution, the office said in a statement.
Operations to detain the suspects are going on in the capital of Ankara and three provinces, it added.
The suspects were identified through their use of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app used by the group, and records of sequential calls made via payphones and fixed lines, as well as statements of witnesses, it said.
The Turkish government classifies the Gulen movement as a terrorist organization and holds it responsible for a coup attempt in July 2016, in which more than 250 people were killed. The movement was led by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lived in the United States from 1999 until he died in 2024.
Since the failed coup, Turkish authorities have arrested thousands of suspects. ■
