A total of 12,801 police officers have been suspended from their posts over suspected links to Gulen, Turkey's Security General Directorate announced in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement released on its website, out of the dismissed, 2,543 are ranking officers.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Interior Ministry dismissed 37 people over links to Gulen, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based preacher, is blamed by Turkish government for orchestrating a failed coup attempt on July 15. At least 241 people were killed and over 2,000 were injured in the attempt.

Source : XINHUA