Erdogan targets more than 50,000 in purge after failed Turkish coup
Turkey vowed to root out allies of the US-based cleric it blames for an abortive coup last week, widening a purge of the army, police and judiciary on July 19 to universities and schools, the intelligence agency and religious authorities.
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Around 50,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended or detained since the coup attempt, stirring tensions across the country of 80 million which borders Syria's chaos and is a Western ally against Islamic State.
"This parallel terrorist organization will no longer be an effective pawn for any country," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, referring to what the government has long alleged is a state within a state controlled by followers of Fethullah Gulen.
"We will dig them up by their roots," he told parliament.
US President Barack Obama discussed the status of Gulen in a telephone call with Erdogan on July 19, the White House said, urging Ankara to show restraint as it pursues those responsible for the coup attempt.
In parallel talks, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and his Turkish counterpart discussed the importance of Turkey's Incirlik Air Base in the campaign against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon said.
