Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have issued detention warrants for 1,112 people suspected of links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric who is blamed by Ankara for a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Anadolu Agency says the warrants were issued Tuesday as part of an investigation into alleged cheating in an exam in 2010 that allowed police officers to become deputy police inspectors. Prosecutors say questions were given to followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen before the test.

Anadolu says police launched simultaneous operations in the capital Ankara and 75 provinces.

The operation was one of the biggest against Gulen's network since the coup attempt. Some 77,000 people have been arrested and around 130,000 others have been dismissed from state jobs since the coup.

Gulen denies involvement in the attempt.