ANKARA: Turkish police on Tuesday launched operations across the country to detain over 200 people, including soldiers, suspected of ties to the group blamed for the 2016 coup attempt, local media reported.

Prosecutors in several provinces including Ankara issued arrest warrants for 222 suspects as part of investigations into followers of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, news agencies Anadolu and DHA reported. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the July 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a claim Gulen strongly denies.