Turkey detains 1,000 alleged Gulen supporters: minister

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Pro-Erdogan supporters hold Turkish flags during a protest at the Sarachane park in Istanbul on July 19, 2016. The Turkish army said on July 19 that the vast majority of its members had no links with the July 15 attempted coup and warned that the putschists would face severe punishment. The armed forces blamed the "Fethullah Terrorist Organisation" (FETO) for the failed putsch, referring to Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally turned foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey's prime minister said on July 19 his government had sent four files to the United States, as Ankara seeks the extradition of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. / AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS
FILE PHOTO: Pro-Erdogan supporters hold Turkish flags during a protest at the Sarachane park in Istanbul on July 19, 2016.
The Turkish army said on July 19 that the vast majority of its members had no links with the July 15 attempted coup and warned that the putschists would face severe punishment. The armed forces blamed the “Fethullah Terrorist Organisation” (FETO) for the failed putsch, referring to Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally turned foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s prime minister said on July 19 his government had sent four files to the United States, as Ankara seeks the extradition of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. / AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Wednesday detained over 1,000 suspects in a massive new crackdown on alleged supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, the interior minister said, a week after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a referendum on ramping up his powers.

A total of 1,009 suspects have so far been detained in raids in 72 provinces across the country, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency. Gulen is blamed by the authorities for masterminding the July 15 failed coup but denies the charges.

© Agence France-Presse