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Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 73 air force pilots as part of Ankara’s ongoing crackdown on alleged plotters and sympathisers of the July 15 coup attempt.

The arrest warrants were issued yesterday as police forces launched operations across 17 provinces to detain the pilots over their alleged links to US-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen, Anadolu reported.

The operations focused on an air base in the central Turkish province of Konya, the news agency added.

According to Turkey’s private Dogan news agency, the suspects are accused of “armed rebellion against the Turkish Republic” and membership in what Ankara calls the Fethullah terror organisation or FETO.

The latest detentions will bring to more than 300 the number of pilots dismissed or arrested as part of the coup investigation.

Other media reports said more than 200 soldiers and civilians were to be arrested in coup-related operations yesterday. — PressTV.