ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Ankara’s chief prosecutor ordered the detention of 110 soldiers from the air force on Friday for suspected links to a U.S.-based cleric Turkey says orchestrated a failed coup in 2016, the prosecutor’s office said.

Three colonels, two lieutenant colonels, six majors and three captains were among those ordered held in the operation spread over the capital and 15 other provinces, the prosecutor’s office said. All those detained were on active duty, it said.

Authorities have carried out regular sweeps against alleged supporters of the cleric Fethullah Gulen since the coup attempt of July 2016, in which 250 people were killed. Gulen denies involvement.

Turkey’s Western allies have criticised the crackdown, which mostly took place under a state of emergency declared shortly after the coup attempt and remained in effect until July 2018.

Erdogan’s critics accuse him of using the failed putsch as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkey says the measures are necessary to combat threats to national security.