The Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) Turkey holds responsible for the bloody July 15 coup attempt has even broader ambitions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Saturday, Anadolu reported.
"FETO not only seeks a takeover in Turkey, but also tries to reach towards African countries," Erdogan said in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera network.
The group has hundreds of schools and institutions in 170 countries, Erdogan said.
"They are raising the children of top government leaders and public figures, and they seek to take over those countries in due time," he said.
FETO is accused of mounting the military putsch attempt on July 15 that killed 240 people and injured 2,200 others. The terrorist group's leader, U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, is sought by an Istanbul court on charges related to the coup attempt.
The Gulen-led movement has long been accused of a broader effort spanning decades to infiltrate state institutions, forming what is commonly referred to as a "parallel state".
Erdogan said the post-coup investigation, whereby thousands of people were detained and tens of thousands of civil servants were suspended, would be a long-term process, and ridding the country of FETO would take time.
"We will wipe them out. We will reestablish the state. We will cleanse our security forces," the president said.