Turkey detains 192 military personnel in post-coup probes

27 Jun, 2018 09:32 / Updated 6 years ago

Turkish authorities have ordered the detention of 192 military personnel in operations targeting suspected supporters of the US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, Reuters reports. Ankara has accused Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup two years ago, while he denies involvement. One former brigadier general and 30 pilots were among 99 members of the Air Force facing possible charges in an investigation launched by Ankara prosecutors and spread across 20 other provinces, according to the prosecutors’ office. It said the detainees were suspected of being in contact with the network of the cleric, and of communicating with it via periodic pay phone calls, a method believed to be used by the supporters of the group. Authorities also ordered the detention of 93 personnel from the army, navy and coastguard, Anadolu said.