Turkish prosecutor's office orders arrest of 275 military personnel for alleged coup

On Tuesday, at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Turkish police began operations to arrest a total of 275 military personnel on suspicion of belonging to the brotherhood of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of instigating the attempted coup d'état in 2016. 

In a first operation, the Prosecutor's Office in Izmir, western Turkey, ordered the arrest of 191 air force soldiers, including eight lieutenants and 173 active-duty non-commissioned officers.  In Istanbul and Ankara, the security forces launched two operations to arrest 76 other members of the armed forces for alleged Gulenist links, according to the official Anadolu news agency. 

The Ankara Prosecutor's Office also issued an arrest warrant today for eight members of the Gendarmerie, a police force attached to the Turkish Armed Forces. 

Most of the suspects were active members of the armed forces, while some were retired or expelled from the force by decree. 

A week ago another 100 soldiers were arrested for alleged coup links. Since the July 2016 uprising, more than 19,500 members of the Turkish Armed Forces have been expelled from the army because of their alleged links with the Gülenist brotherhood.

In total, more than 120,000 state officials have been dismissed for alleged links to the Gülen brotherhood and some 50,000 are in prison. 

The conservative preacher, a former ally of the ruling AKP and since 1999 an exile in the United States, denies any involvement in the 2016 coup.