Turkey ordered the arrest of 295 serving military personnel on Friday, the prosecutor's office said, accusing them of links to the network of US-based Muslim cleric <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-trial-to-open-into-russian-ambassadors-2016-killing-188965">Fethullah Gulen</a>, who Ankara says orchestrated a 2016 attempted coup.

Those facing detention included three colonels, eight majors and 10 lieutenants, with around half of the suspects being in the army and the remainder in other military forces including the navy and air force, the statement said.

The prosecutor's office said police launched simultaneous arrest operations at 1:00 am&nbsp;(2200 GMT) under an investigation into pay phone calls between suspected Gulen operatives. It was not clear how many suspects have been detained so far.

About 250 people were killed in the failed putsch, in which Gulen, a former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, has denied involvement. Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.

More than 77,000 people have been jailed pending trial since the coup and widespread arrests are still routine. Authorities have suspended or sacked 150,000 civil servants and military personnel.

Turkey's Western allies have criticised the crackdown, with Erdogan's critics accusing him of using the putsch as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkish authorities say the measures are necessary to combat threats to national security. 
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Turkey ordered the arrest of 295 serving military personnel on Friday, the prosecutor's office said, accusing them of links to the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says orchestrated a 2016 attempted coup.

Turkey ordered the arrest of 295 serving military personnel on Friday, the prosecutor's office said, accusing them of links to the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says orchestrated a 2016 attempted coup. Those facing detention included three colonels, eight majors and 10 lieutenants, with around half of the suspects being in the army and the remainder in other military forces including the navy and air force, the statement said. The prosecutor's office said police launched simultaneous arrest operations at 1:00 am (2200 GMT) under an investigation into pay phone calls between suspected Gulen operatives. It was not clear how many suspects have been detained so far. About 250 people were killed in the failed putsch, in which Gulen, a former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, has denied involvement. Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. More than 77,000 people have been jailed pending trial since the coup and widespread arrests are still routine. Authorities have suspended or sacked 150,000 civil servants and military personnel. Turkey's Western allies have criticised the crackdown, with Erdogan's critics accusing him of using the putsch as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkish authorities say the measures are necessary to combat threats to national security.

Turkey orders 295 military personnel arrested over US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen links in 2016 coup attempt

Turkey today blocked access to the social media sites, Twitter and Whatapp,&nbsp;an internet monitoring group said, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

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Access was being blocked by throttling, an expert from the monitoring group Turkey Blocks said, a method of slowing certain websites to the point where they are unusable.

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Restrictions on messaging service WhatsApp and Instagram have also now been detected, Turkey blocks said.&nbsp;

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Confirmed: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube blocked by throttling in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkey?src=hash">#Turkey</a> - developing incident<a href="https://t.co/XA9JZaxn54">https://t.co/XA9JZaxn54</a> <a href="https://t.co/3sAjwikGY5">pic.twitter.com/3sAjwikGY5</a>
&mdash; Turkey Blocks (@TurkeyBlocks) <a href="https://twitter.com/TurkeyBlocks/status/794313477628239872">3 November 2016</a></blockquote>
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Update: WhatsApp messaging service block in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkey?src=hash">#Turkey</a> confirmed, joining Twitter, Facebook and YouTube shutdowns<a href="https://t.co/XA9JZaxn54">https://t.co/XA9JZaxn54</a> <a href="https://t.co/XNusUu2rgW">pic.twitter.com/XNusUu2rgW</a>
&mdash; Turkey Blocks (@TurkeyBlocks) <a href="https://twitter.com/TurkeyBlocks/status/794325628464091139">3 November 2016</a></blockquote>
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According to the monitoring group, internet restrictions are increasingly being used in Turkey in a bid to suppress media coverage of political incidents.&nbsp;

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The crackdown comes shortly after &nbsp;11 pro-Kurdish lawmakers were detained in the mainly Kurdish southeast overnight.

(WION)&nbsp;

The crackdown comes shortly after the detention of pro-Kurdish leaders

Turkey today blocked access to the social media sites, Twitter and Whatapp, an internet monitoring group said, Reuters reported. Access was being blocked by throttling, an expert from the monitoring group Turkey Blocks said, a method of slowing certain websites to the point where they are unusable. Restrictions on messaging service WhatsApp and Instagram have also now been detected, Turkey blocks said. Confirmed: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube blocked by throttling in #Turkey - developing incidenthttps://t.co/XA9JZaxn54 pic.twitter.com/3sAjwikGY5 — Turkey Blocks (@TurkeyBlocks) 3 November 2016 × Update: WhatsApp messaging service block in #Turkey confirmed, joining Twitter, Facebook and YouTube shutdownshttps://t.co/XA9JZaxn54 pic.twitter.com/XNusUu2rgW — Turkey Blocks (@TurkeyBlocks) 3 November 2016 × According to the monitoring group, internet restrictions are increasingly being used in Turkey in a bid to suppress media coverage of political incidents. The crackdown comes shortly after 11 pro-Kurdish lawmakers were detained in the mainly Kurdish southeast overnight. (WION)

Turkey blocks access to Twitter, Whatsapp, says monitoring group

The United States confirmed yesterday that Turkey had made a &quot;formal&quot; request for the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for last month&#39;s coup attempt, but specified the request was not linked to the failed putsch. 
 
Gulen, who has lived in self-exile in the United States since 1999, strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt. 
 
&quot;We can confirm now that Turkey has requested the extradition of Mr Gulen. But I wouldn&#39;t characterise the request as relating to the coup attempt,&quot; deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. 
 
&quot;We have received a formal extradition request, just not one pertaining to the coup attempt,&quot; said Toner, who did not offer further details on the dossier submitted by Ankara. 
 
For weeks, Turkey has said that it requested Gulen&#39;s extradition to face trial in his home country. It has even accused him of running a &quot;parallel state&quot; in Turkey. Despite constant pressure from Ankara, Washington appeared to be dragging its feet on the issue, saying it had not received a &quot;formal&quot; request and was looking for &quot;evidence&quot; of Gulen&#39;s involvement in the failed putsch. 
 
The latest State Department comments come as diplomats and officials from the US Justice Department were due to meet with Turkish authorities about the Gulen case. Vice President Joe Biden is also expected in Turkey on Wednesday. He will be the highest-ranking US official to visit the NATO ally since the coup attempt. 
 
The controversy swirling around Gulen, 75, has complicated already difficult ties between Washington and Ankara. Turkey has suggested a failure to deliver Gulen would severely damage bilateral relations. 
 
(AFP)

US deputy State Department spokesperson confirmed a 'formal' request but offered no further details on the dossier submitted by Ankara

The United States confirmed yesterday that Turkey had made a "formal" request for the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for last month's coup attempt, but specified the request was not linked to the failed putsch. Gulen, who has lived in self-exile in the United States since 1999, strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt. "We can confirm now that Turkey has requested the extradition of Mr Gulen. But I wouldn't characterise the request as relating to the coup attempt," deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. "We have received a formal extradition request, just not one pertaining to the coup attempt," said Toner, who did not offer further details on the dossier submitted by Ankara. For weeks, Turkey has said that it requested Gulen's extradition to face trial in his home country. It has even accused him of running a "parallel state" in Turkey. Despite constant pressure from Ankara, Washington appeared to be dragging its feet on the issue, saying it had not received a "formal" request and was looking for "evidence" of Gulen's involvement in the failed putsch. The latest State Department comments come as diplomats and officials from the US Justice Department were due to meet with Turkish authorities about the Gulen case. Vice President Joe Biden is also expected in Turkey on Wednesday. He will be the highest-ranking US official to visit the NATO ally since the coup attempt. The controversy swirling around Gulen, 75, has complicated already difficult ties between Washington and Ankara. Turkey has suggested a failure to deliver Gulen would severely damage bilateral relations. (AFP)

US: Gulen extradition request not linked to Turkey coup

President Tayyip Erdogan accused the West of supporting terrorism and standing by coups on Tuesday, questioning Turkey&#39;s relationship with the United States and saying the &quot;script&quot; for an abortive putsch last month was &quot;written abroad&quot;. 
 
In a combative speech at his palace in Ankara, Erdogan said charter schools in the United States were the main source of income for the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who he says masterminded the bloody July 15 putsch. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m calling on the United States: what kind of strategic partners are we, that you can still host someone whose extradition I have asked for?&quot; Erdogan said in a speech to local representatives of multinational firms operating in Turkey. 
 
&quot;This coup attempt has actors inside Turkey, but its script was written outside. Unfortunately, the West is supporting terrorism and stands by coup plotters,&quot; he said in comments which were met with applause&nbsp;and broadcast live. 
 
The 75-year-old Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement in the failed coup. President Barack Obama has said Washington will only extradite him if Turkey provides evidence of wrongdoing. 
 
The fallout from the abortive coup, in which more than 230 people were killed as mutinous soldiers commandeered fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in a bid to seize power, has deepened a rift between Ankara and its Western allies. 
 
Erdogan and many Turks have been frustrated by US and European criticism of a crackdown in the wake of the putsch, accusing the West of greater concern about the rights of the plotters than the gravity of the threat to a NATO member state. 
 
More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation since the coup, prompting fears that Erdogan is pursuing an indiscriminate crackdown on all forms of dissent and using the situation to tighten his grip on power. 
 
&quot;If we have mercy on those who carried out this coup attempt, we will be the ones to be pitied,&quot; he said. 
 
The leader of the main secularist opposition CHP, which has condemned the coup and been supportive of the government&#39;s reaction so far, said a state of emergency declared in its aftermath now risked being used to make sweeping changes to the security forces without appropriate parliamentary support. 
 
&quot;There is no doubt that the law on emergency rule was issued in line with the constitution. But there is concern that its application is being used to exceed the goal,&quot; Kemal Kilicdaroglu told a meeting of the CHP. 
 
&quot;It may be necessary to restructure the state, undoubtedly, but this subject must go before parliament.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

President Erdogan says Fethullah Gulen was the mastermind behind the failed coup. He added that the West is supporting terrorism

President Tayyip Erdogan accused the West of supporting terrorism and standing by coups on Tuesday, questioning Turkey's relationship with the United States and saying the "script" for an abortive putsch last month was "written abroad". In a combative speech at his palace in Ankara, Erdogan said charter schools in the United States were the main source of income for the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who he says masterminded the bloody July 15 putsch. "I'm calling on the United States: what kind of strategic partners are we, that you can still host someone whose extradition I have asked for?" Erdogan said in a speech to local representatives of multinational firms operating in Turkey. "This coup attempt has actors inside Turkey, but its script was written outside. Unfortunately, the West is supporting terrorism and stands by coup plotters," he said in comments which were met with applause and broadcast live. The 75-year-old Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement in the failed coup. President Barack Obama has said Washington will only extradite him if Turkey provides evidence of wrongdoing. The fallout from the abortive coup, in which more than 230 people were killed as mutinous soldiers commandeered fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in a bid to seize power, has deepened a rift between Ankara and its Western allies. Erdogan and many Turks have been frustrated by US and European criticism of a crackdown in the wake of the putsch, accusing the West of greater concern about the rights of the plotters than the gravity of the threat to a NATO member state. More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation since the coup, prompting fears that Erdogan is pursuing an indiscriminate crackdown on all forms of dissent and using the situation to tighten his grip on power. "If we have mercy on those who carried out this coup attempt, we will be the ones to be pitied," he said. The leader of the main secularist opposition CHP, which has condemned the coup and been supportive of the government's reaction so far, said a state of emergency declared in its aftermath now risked being used to make sweeping changes to the security forces without appropriate parliamentary support. "There is no doubt that the law on emergency rule was issued in line with the constitution. But there is concern that its application is being used to exceed the goal," Kemal Kilicdaroglu told a meeting of the CHP. "It may be necessary to restructure the state, undoubtedly, but this subject must go before parliament." (Reuters)

Erdogan says Turkey's coup script was 'written abroad'