Turkey says 103 generals, admirals detained after Turkey's failed coup attempt

ANKARA

AA photo





Anadolu Agency said 41 of the detained high-ranking soldiers were jailed pending trial as of the afternoon of July 18.



The commander of the 2nd Army, Gen. Adem Huduti, and its executive officer and Malatya Garrison Commander, Maj. Gen. Avni Angun, were among the arrested ranking generals.



Former Air Force Commander Gen. Akın Öztürk, who has been described as the ringleader of the foiled uprising, was also arrested.



As part of the operations on alleged coup attempters, police teams entered the Air Force Academy in the Yeşilköy neighborhood in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district on July 18, detaining four soldiers, including a colonel.

According to sources, 25 generals and officers held a secret meeting at the campus and removed surveillance cameras and computer hard disks afterwards.



A cell phone belonging to the academy’s commander, Maj. Gen. Fethi Alpay, was reportedly found in a trash bin.



Alpay was detained and additional technical personnel were dispatched to the academy to remove batteries from planes and helicopters located at the school’s field in order to prevent their unauthorized use.



Sources also said some weapons were removed from the academy’s ammunition depot.



Police and prosecutors also initiated an inspection at the İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, a key spot from where the U.S.-based coalition is conducting operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.



The base’s Turkish commander, Brig. Gen. Bekir Ercan, was arrested earlier over alleged involvement in the coup attempt.



A total of 103 generals and admirals have been detained for questioning across Turkey over the failed coup attempt on July 15, as part of an operation that included crucial military seats, while operations on some army headquarters continued on July 18.