Turkey to arrest 249 foreign ministry personnel in post-coup probe

Turkey has ordered the arrest of 249 foreign ministry personnel over suspected links to the Fethullah Gulen network.

Ankara chief prosecutor's office said investigations revealed that the officers had committed irregularities in the Turkish foreign ministry's past entrance exams.

It said 78 suspects had been detained so far following operations across 43 provinces.

More than 77,000 people have been jailed pending trial, while some 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others have been sacked or suspended from their jobs as part of the post-coup purges.

Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating an attempted coup in 2016, has denied any wrongdoing.