Turkish soldier linked to Erdoğan hotel attack captured

MUĞLA - Anadolu Agency

A soldier linked to an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s holiday residence during the July 15 failed coup attempt was captured in southwestern Turkey on July 21, security sources have said.

State-run Anadolu Agency quoted sources reporting that Lieutenant Ali Sarıbey is accused of being among the soldiers who attacked Erdoğan’s hotel in Marmaris.

Sarıbey was captured by police officers during a vehicle check in the Ula district of the southwestern province of Muğla.

The sources said Sarıbey was armed and dressed in civilian clothes.

An operation is still underway to capture other troops who attacked the hotel on the night of July 15, shortly after Erdoğan had left the area for Istanbul after being alerted to the coup attempt.

More than 6,000 people, around half of them military personnel, have been detained following the coup attempt, which is said to have been organized by followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen.

Gülen, a former ally of Erdoğan, is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through supporters within the Turkish state.