FETO terror group ringleader Fetullah Gulen dies in the US

Fetullah Gulen, who masterminded the 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, has died in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to reports. He was 83.

Herkul, the terror group’s propaganda website, said on its X account that Gulen had died on Sunday evening in the hospital where he was being treated.

For decades, Gulen, the head of the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), oversaw a vast terror network aimed at undermining Turkish state and democracy.

Gulen had been living in the US state of Pennsylvania. Turkish leaders have long sought his extradition, but US judicial officials did not approve it.

FETO and its US-based ringleader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.