Turkish Interior Ministry fires 9,000, detains others
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ANKARA - Turkey's Interior Ministry has fired nearly 9,000 police officers, bureaucrats and others and detained thousands of suspected plotters following a foiled coup against the government, Turkey's state-run news agency reported Monday.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said a total of 8,777 employees attached to the ministry were dismissed, including 30 governors, 52 civil service inspectors and 16 legal advisers.
Other media reports said police and military police officers and coast guards were also removed from duty.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a total of 7,543 people had been detained since Friday, including 6,030 military personnel. On Monday, according to Anadolu, prosecutors entered Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, which is key to the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group. A Turkish brigadier general at the base has already been detained for his alleged role in Friday's uprising, and news reports say refueling aircraft that took off from the base helped keep F-16s used by the coup-plotters up in the air.
