Turkish police detain 51 soldiers, 9 others over alleged Gulen links

Turkish authorities on Monday detained 51 soldiers and nine others over alleged links to the US-based cleric who Ankara says orchestrated the failed coup in 2016, police in Istanbul said. Those detained were among 89 suspects whose detention was ordered in an investigation launched by Istanbul prosecutors and spread over nine provinces, it said. Authorities have carried out such sweeps against suspected supporters of the cleric Fethullah Gulen on a regular basis since the July 2016 coup attempt, in which 250 people were killed, Reuters said. Gulen denies involvement. Separately, prosecutors in Ankara issued detention warrants for 13 senior officers, all with the rank of major and of whom three are on active duty, the Hurriyet newspaper said.