Ankara, Turkey

Turkey dismissed nearly 8,000 security personnel from duty on Thursday, state media reported, as crackdowns on those suspected of links to the failed July coup continued.

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State media reports said a total of 7,669 police were removed along with 323 personnel in the gendarmerie, responsible for domestic security.

Ankara has accused US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his Hizmet (service) movement for plotting and organising the failed coup, which left 240 dead excluding 24 coup plotters.

He is also accused of running a "parallel state" and his followers of infiltrating state institutions.

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Gulen strongly denies all accusations.

The latest purge was not just limited to the security forces.

According to the official gazette, about 520 people were removed from the religious affairs directorate.

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On Thursday, 543 prosecutors and judges were dismissed, bringing the total of those removed from the judiciary to 3,390, NTV channel reported.

The gazette has decreed that any judge or prosecutor who voluntarily retired could apply to return within the next two months.

A total of 4,451 military personnel has been dismissed since July including 151 generals and admirals.

Nearly 80,000 civil servants have been suspended, he said, while around 5,000 have been dismissed.

(WION with inputs from AFP)