Turkey: Arrests of 158 Military Personnel for Gülen Links

Turkish police have arrested 158 military personnel suspected of having links to the organization of Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt. The arrests took place in 43 of Turkey's 81 provinces, including Istanbul and Izmir.

According to the state news agency Anadolu, these arrests add to approximately 50 others made in late May. The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office announced that another 18 military personnel are still wanted.

Fethullah Gülen, who died in late October in the United States, was once a close ally of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before their relationship broke down. Ankara accuses Gülen's followers of infiltrating various Turkish institutions to create a 'parallel state'.

Nearly 26,000 people have been arrested since the failed coup attempt in 2016 on charges of participating in the Gülenist movement, and more than 9,000 have been imprisoned, according to Turkish justice officials.

President Erdoğan has vowed to pursue Gülen's followers 'to the farthest corners of the world'.