Turkish prosecutors ordered the arrest of 532 suspects including 459 serving military personnel in an operation targeting people linked to a Muslim cleric who Ankara says was behind a 2016 attempted coup, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Monday. Istanbul prosecutors ordered the arrest of 258 suspects, with the serving personnel including four colonels, one lieutenant colonel, nine majors and 24 captains, Anadolu said. Prosecutors in the western Turkish city of Izmir sought the detention of 274 people, also mostly serving military personnel. In the wake of the coup attempt, about 80,000 people were held pending trial and some 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others were sacked or suspended. More than 20,000 people have been expelled from the Turkish military.

Source: Egypt Independent April 26, 2021 10:18 UTC