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Turkey, US meet after power grab attempt
by Staff Writers
Istanbul (AFP) Aug 1, 2016


Turkey arrests 11-man 'death squad' over Erdogan hotel raid
Istanbul (AFP) Aug 1, 2016 - Turkey has arrested 11 fugitive soldiers suspected of involvement in an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hotel during the night of the failed coup, the deputy prime minister said Monday.

Erdogan was staying in the western seaside resort of Marmaris on July 15 but dashed to Istanbul just before the hotel came under attack from rebel soldiers determined to oust him from power.

"Eleven of them were captured in Ula," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a press conference after a cabinet meeting, referring to a town near Marmaris.

He said one soldier was still at large.

Erdogan earlier said his swift escape had saved him from being killed or taken hostage.

An interior ministry official, who declined to be named, described the arrested men as members of a "death squad" and said the overnight operation to catch them followed a tip-off from local villagers.

The soldiers had been hiding in the wild landscape above Marmaris since the military action, and the villagers spotted them while they were out boar-hunting.

"There was an exchange of fire during the operation," the official added. "Drones and helicopters were used to pinpoint the location."

Since the coup, Erdogan has launched a massive purge of Turkish institutions, especially the military, with more than 3,000 armed forces personnel dismissed.

Turkey's military and political leaders were to meet on Monday in Ankara with the top US military commander in the first direct talks since last month's failed coup.

General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, will meet with Turkish chief of staff General Hulusi Akar and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in the Turkish capital.

Tensions between the two NATO allies have been aggravated by the foiled July 15 putsch by rogue elements in the military who sought to bring down the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

And some Turkish officials have even alleged that Washington could have had a hand in the plot, although the suggestion has been firmly denied by top US officials.

Turkey successfully thwarted the attempted coup, blaming it on a military faction loyal to Erdogan's arch-foe Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric who has been in self-imposed exile in the United States for years.

From his secluded compound in Pennsylvania, the preacher has denied the charges.

Ankara has dispatched dossiers to Washington which it says proves Gulen's involvement in the putsch, with the White House on Friday confirming it had received documents from the Turkish government requesting the cleric's extradition from Pennsylvania.

Last week, Erdogan lashed out at the top US general in the Middle East after he expressed concerns over military relations between the two allies in the wake of the putsch.

Quoted by US media, US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel had said the failed coup and subsequent round-up of dozens of generals could affect American cooperation with Turkey.

"You are taking the side of coup plotters instead of thanking this state for defeating the coup attempt," the Turkish leader said.

The US State Department has rejected suggestions it had any hand in the coup as "ludicrous".

Dunford will also visit the Incirlik air base, which is used by the US-led coalition for air raids against Islamic State jihadists, a US official told AFP.

Ankara suspects that the base in southern Turkey was used by putschists to resupply war planes involved in the July 15 operation.

Turkish authorities had temporarily cut power to the huge base in the wake of the aborted coup, later restoring electrical power supplies.


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Previous Report
SUPERPOWERS
Erdogan says wants Turkey spy agency, chief of staff under his control
Ankara (AFP) July 30, 2016
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he wanted to introduce constitutional changes to bring the Turkish spy agency and military chief of staff directly under his control after the failed coup. "We are going to introduce a small constitutional package (to parliament) which, if approved, will bring the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and chief of staff under the control of ... read more


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