Turkey detains 38 over suspected links to 2016 coup attempt

Turkish police on Tuesday detained at least 38 suspects over their alleged relations to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, Anadolu Agency reported.

At least 23 suspects were detained as part of an investigation launched by the chief prosecutor in the capital Ankara after an arrest warrant was issued for 42 people, the agency reported.

The investigation aimed to reveal covered members of the Gulen Movement in the gendarmerie command.

The Turkish government accused the movement of infiltrating into the state bureaucracy and then attempted a coup on July 15, 2016.

A total of 15 suspects were detained in a separate operation over an investigation by the central Konya province prosecutor.

The operation was carried out across seven cities of Turkey targeting the Gulen movement’s covered structure within the Turkish Armed Forces.

Ankara says U.S. based Muslim preacher, Fethullah Gulen, was behind the coup attempt, in which 250 people were killed.

The Turkish government has launched a massive crackdown on suspects with links to the network in the aftermath of the coup attempt.