Turkey issues arrest warrants to 275 military members over 'Gulen leaks'

Turkish authorities yesterday ordered the arrest of 275 military personnel on suspicion of having links to US based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Ankara accuses of planning the failed coup of 2016.

The Anadolu Agency said the Turkish police have coordinated their operation from the western city of Izmir and targeted people in 22 provinces, adding that 145 suspects have already been arrested.

The agency said the suspects are believed to have contacted other Gulen followers using public pay phones and that most were still in service.

READ: Turkish translator at US Consulate faces up to 15 years in prison 

Meanwhile, Turkish security sources said the police have arrested 16 army personnel in a separate operation in the city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey over the weekend.

The sources added that a local court ordered the imprisonment of six of them yesterday, pending trial, while the other ten were released.

Istanbul police said the prosecution ordered the arrest of 44 military personnel, including a major and three lieutenants, in addition to doctors and teachers, explaining that 33 people had already been arrested in the operation.

Anadolu said the Turkish police have also arrested 25 of the 32 suspects from the Air Force as part of another operation.