ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish police detained 150 people in raids targeting suspects in the military accused of links to a Muslim cleric who Ankara says was behind a 2016 attempted coup, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday.
The operation, across 53 provinces, was part of a sustained crackdown against the network of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. More than 250 people were killed in the failed putsch in July 2016. Gulen denies any involvement.
Prosecutors ordered the detention of a total 184 suspects, including 123 serving military personnel, Anadolu said. It said suspects were also targeted in northern Cyprus, where the Turkish military is deployed.
Police were conducting operations to capture the remaining suspects, it said. Among the suspects are two colonels, seven majors, 10 captains and 22 lieutenants.
In the wake of the coup attempt, some 80,000 people were held pending trial and some 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others were sacked or suspended. More than 20,000 people have been expelled from the Turkish military.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)
