Turkey to detain 254 municipality, ministry staff over Gulen links

ISTANBUL – Turkish prosecutors issued detention warrants for 254 Istanbul municipality and ministry staff over alleged links to the US-based cleric accused of orchestrating last year's attempted coup, state media said on Tuesday.

The magnitude of the latest operations - which targeted current as well as previously dismissed staff - mark a fresh escalation against the movement of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, more than 14 months after the failed putsch.

The Interior Ministry said on Monday nearly 1,000 people were detained over the previous week on allegations of ties to what Ankara calls the "Gulenist Terror Group".