Turkey detains 150, including soldiers, over links to failed coup

Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained at least 150 suspected supporters of U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, including soldiers on active duty, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Police and gendarmerie were searching for 34 other suspects in 53 towns and cities, Anadolu reported.

The suspects include 123 active duty soldiers from the land, air, naval and gendarmerie forces. Thirty-eight others are former cadets who were purged following a failed coup by a faction in the military on 15 July 2016.

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More than four years later, Ankara continues to round up suspected Gulen loyalists, who are accused of infiltrating the state apparatus for decades with the aim of eventually orchestrating the coup.

Turkey sees Gulen's movement as a terrorist group, and has jailed thousands over alleged links to the cleric. Tens of thousands were separately purged from public service. Gulen denies any role in the failed putsch.    (dpa)