MojNews- Turkey has ordered the arrest of ۱۷۶ serving military personnel over suspected links to the network which Ankara says was behind an attempted coup three years ago, the Istanbul chief prosecutors’ office said on Tuesday.

Among those facing arrest were a colonel, two lieutenant colonels, five majors, seven captains and ۱۰۰ lieutenants in an operation encompassing the army, air force and navy, the statement said.

Ankara says U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen masterminded the failed putsch on July ۱۵, ۲۰۱۶. He has denied any involvement.

In the ۳-year purge since the coup attempt, more than ۷۷,۰۰۰ people have been jailed pending trial and about ۱۵۰,۰۰۰ civil servants, military personnel and others have been sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Turkey’s Western allies and rights groups have criticized the scale of the crackdown, saying President Tayyip Erdogan has used the abortive coup as a pretext to quash dissent.