Turkey detains 150 soldiers over alleged Gulen links

Ankara, May 11: Turkey Police have detained 150 soldiers over alleged links to the U.S based preacher, Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says orchestrated an attempted coup in 2016.

State-run Anadolu news agency today said those detained were among 300 military personnel, including 211 serving officers, facing arrest in an investigation by Istanbul prosecutors.

It said that police also detained more than 80 serving air force staff yesterday. Turkey declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown after the coup, resulting in about 50,000 arrests.

More than 110,000 people were sacked from state jobs, including in the military. Gulen has denied involvement in the failed coup, in which 250 people were killed.

Some 8,500 Turkish armed forces personnel have been sacked so far, including 150 generals, which is more than half of the military's pre-coup contingent of top-ranking officers.

Last month, Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said authorities would soon dismiss nearly 3,000 more military personnel via emergency decree.

Five days after the coup bid, Turkey introduced a state of emergency which was renewed for a seventh time last month despite Ankara's Western allies calling for it to end.

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.