Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran say they stand against "separatist" agendas that would undermine Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a joint statement released at the end of their summit meeting in Ankara, Putin, Rouhani and Erdogan said Wednesday they "rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism." (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
April 05, 2018 - 2:36 AM
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says Turkey's intelligence agency has snatched at least 80 Turkish nationals wanted for their alleged links to the 2016 failed coup, in operations in 18 countries.
Bozdag's comments during a television interview Thursday came after Turkey secretly arranged the deportation from Kosovo of six Turkish men accused of supporting the coup attempt, sparking the dismissal of Kosovo's interior minister and intelligence chief and criticism from human rights groups.
Bozdag did not name the countries. He said such operations would continue.
Turkey accuses U.S-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the 2016 failed coup. Gulen denies the accusation. Those deported from Kosovo worked in schools and clinics supported by Gulen's movement.
Turkey has arrested more than 38,000 people for links to Gulen and fired some 110,000 public servants.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018