Turkey’s state-run agency says 8 detained in alleged coup plot probe

State agency Turkish police detain 8 in coup plot

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish police have detained eight retired army officers, including four generals, as part of an investigation into an alleged plot by elements of the fiercely secular military seeking to topple the Islamic-rooted government, the state news agency said Monday.

Police confirmed the crackdown but would not say how many people had been detained. The Anatolia agency said without citing sources that police staged raids in 14 cities Monday. Private NTV television, citing unidentified judicial officials, said prosecutors had ordered the detention of 95 suspects, mostly active-duty officers.

A broader showdown is taking place between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which enjoys strong electoral backing and the support of the European Union, and the military, which has ousted four governments since 1960.

Close to 40 other officers, including several generals and admirals, have already been charged for allegedly plotting a 2003 coup against the government. They are accused of seeking to destabilize the country by blowing up mosques to trigger a coup and topple the government.

Hundreds of civilians, retired and active-duty officers are already on trial on charges of an apparently separate coup plot against the government.

Secularists believe the arrests are a government effort to intimidate them through the courts.