Eight members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) were intercepted off the Aegean coast by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Sunday, according to security sources.

The operation was a joint effort between MIT, the Aegean Regional Command of the Turkish Coast Guard, and Gendarmerie Commands in İzmir. The FETÖ members, under surveillance prior to the operation, were attempting to flee abroad aboard a U.S.-flagged sailboat named ASTERI. The boat departed from a gulf near Alaçatı, a popular vacation resort town.

Security forces stopped the sailboat and handed over the 10 suspects, including eight identified as FETÖ members, to gendarmerie units for legal proceedings.

FETÖ members frequently use irregular migrant routes to escape the country, either toward the northwestern border with Greece or through the Aegean Sea. In Edirne, a primary land crossing point to Europe, more than 4,000 FETÖ members have been intercepted in the past eight years since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. (ILKHA)