ISTANBUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the detention of dozens of military personnel, including 31 soldiers in active service, over their alleged links to a network believed to be behind a coup attempt in 2016.
Police launched operations in 16 provinces across the country to capture the suspects, including eight soldiers in active service, upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
So far, 34 have been detained, Anadolu said, noting police were continuing to hunt the other suspects.
In a separate investigation conducted by prosecutors in the central Anatolian province of Konya, police launched raids in 23 provinces to capture a total of 30 suspects, including 23 on-duty soldiers, Anadolu said.
According to the agency, the suspects were accused of serving as covert imams for the group led by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara blames Gulen and his network for the coup bid in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed.
