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19 Feb, 2019 09:37

Ankara launches raids to detain over 300 for alleged Gulen ties

Turkish police on Tuesday launched raids to detain over 300 people, including military personnel, suspected of ties to a group blamed for a 2016 coup bid, according to state media. Prosecutors in Turkey’s three biggest provinces – Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir – issued arrest warrants for 324 people as part of different probes into followers of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, Anadolu reported. Turkey accuses Gulen of ordering the abortive bid to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016. Gulen denies the claim. The Istanbul public prosecutor reportedly sought the arrest of 53 active duty soldiers in 15 provinces, including in the metropolis. More than 760 people were detained last week in operations across 76 provinces of Turkey’s 81 provinces, but 122 suspects were later freed under judicial supervision, AFP said.