Turkey is seeking 150 gylenists

Turkish police on Friday launched raids across the country to capture nearly 150 people, including military personnel suspected of links to the group blamed for coup efforts in 2016, local media reported.

Prosecutors in Istanbul, Konya and Ankara issued arrest warrants for 137 people as part of various investigations of US-based Muslim preacher Fetullah Gulen, Anadolu news agency and broadcaster reported NTV.

Turkey claims Gulen ordered the coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15th 2016 a charge Gulen strongly denies.

The raids took place in more than 30 provinces, including Ankara, where the public prosecutor issued a warrant for 35 inactive navy officers, including 10 still in active office.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in connection with allegations of being part of Gulen organisations since 2016, while over 100,000 have been dismissed or suspended by the public sector.

Although Ankara has been criticised by human rights advocates and its Western allies over the extent of the crackdown, raids have continued in recent weeks.

Turkish officials stress that operations are necessary to remove “virus” caused by the infiltrate of Gulen's movement to key Turkish institutions.