Turkish Police Arrest Senior Military Officers in Coup Probe 

Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Turkish Police Arrest Senior Military Officers in Coup Probe 

Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Turkish police arrested 15 senior military officers in an investigation into the network of Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating last year's attempted coup, state-run Anadolu news agency said on Friday.

It said police were seeking one more officer in the operation, focused on the capital Ankara and spread across nine provinces, adding that 12 of the total 16 suspects were serving officers.

Among the suspects were seven colonels and nine lieutenant colonels from Turkey's gendarmerie force, which maintains security in rural areas, the Hurriyet news website said.

More than 50,000 people, including security personnel and civil servants, have been jailed pending trial in the aftermath of the failed putsch, which the government blames on US-based Gulen. He has denied involvement.

Some 150,000 people have also been suspended or dismissed.

Police operations targeting alleged followers of Gulen have been conducted on a near daily basis since the coup attempt in July 2016, and authorities issued arrest warrants for 44 teachers on Friday, Anadolu said.

The suspects were former teachers at Gulen-linked schools which were previously closed by state decree, Anadolu said.

Twenty-eight of the teachers were arrested so far.

On Wednesday, Fifteen Turkish soldiers were jailed for life for their role in the failed coup.

The men, most of whom were officers, were convicted of trying to take over the Istanbul headquarters of Turkey's ruling party during the thwarted coup, Anadolu reported.



China Sends Naval, Air Forces to Shadow US Plane over Taiwan Strait

A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
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China Sends Naval, Air Forces to Shadow US Plane over Taiwan Strait

A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)

China's military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a US Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to "mislead" the international community.

Around once a month, US military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China - missions that always anger Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the strait is an international waterway.

The US Navy's 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had flown through the strait "in international airspace", adding that the flight demonstrated the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," it said in a statement.

China's military criticized the flight as "public hype", adding that it monitored the US aircraft throughout its transit and "effectively" responded to the situation.

"The relevant remarks by the US distort legal principles, confuse public opinion and mislead international perceptions," the military's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.

"We urge the US side to stop distorting and hyping up and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."

In April, China's military said it sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy Poseidon in the Taiwan Strait, a mission that took place just hours after a call between the Chinese and US defense chiefs.