Turkey issues warrants for 133 officers over coup links

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s state-run news agency says prosecutors have issued warrants for the detention of 133 military officers over suspected links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric who is blamed by Ankara for a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Anadolu Agency said Tuesday that 101 of the suspects were detained in simultaneous raids in 45 provinces for alleged links to Fethullah Gulen’s network.

Police were searching for 32 other suspects.

The agency says 82 of the suspects targeted by the warrants are officers currently serving in the military. They include three colonels, five majors and five lieutenants.

Some 77,000 people have been arrested and around 130,000 others, including military personnel, have been dismissed from state jobs in a government crackdown on Gulen’s network since the coup.

Gulen denies involvement.