ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of 105 people working in information technology (IT) on suspicion of involvement in an attempted military coup a year ago, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.
Over the last year, there have been a large number of police operations targeting people suspected of links to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed putsch on July 15.
In the latest operations, focused on IT employees in both the private and public sectors, police have so far detained 52 people out of the 105 targeted by arrest warrants across eight provinces, including former staff from Turkey’s scientific research council TUBITAK and a telecommunications authority, Anadolu said.
It said the suspects were believed to be users of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by Gulen’s followers. Gulen has denied involvement in the attempted military takeover.
On Monday, authorities issued arrest warrants for 72 university staff, including a former adviser to Turkey’s main opposition leader who staged a mass rally on Sunday to protest against a crackdown in the last year.
Last week, police detained 10 people, including the local head of rights group Amnesty International at a meeting on an island near Istanbul. Their detentions were extended for another seven days on Tuesday, a source close to the matter said.
In total, about 50,000 people have been arrested and 150,000 state workers including teachers, judges and soldiers have been suspended under the emergency rule imposed in late July.
Rights groups and government critics say Turkey has been drifting toward authoritarianism for years, a process they say has accelerated since the coup bid and a referendum in April granting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers.
The government says the crackdown and constitutional changes are necessary to address security threats. More than 240 people were killed in last year’s coup attempt.
Turkey detains dozens of tech staff suspected of coup links
Turkey detains dozens of tech staff suspected of coup links
One killed in attack on oil tankers off Iraq, rescue operation ongoing: authorities
- Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday it had “deep concern” about incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf, without providing details
BAGHDAD: An attack on two oil tankers near Iraq killed at least one crew member, authorities said on Thursday, as Iran carries out a campaign to disrupt global energy markets.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq’s General Company for Ports, told state television that one crew member had been killed and 38 rescued while the “search continues for the missing.”
He did not specify the crew members’ nationalities or provide details on who was behind the attack, which occurred roughly 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the coast.
The Iraqi government’s media cell told national news agency INA that “two tankers were subject to sabotage.”
Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday it had “deep concern” about incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf, without providing details.
“The safety of navigation in international maritime corridors and energy supply routes must remain free from regional conflicts,” the ministry added.
The Strait of Hormuz — the waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s oil — remains closed to almost all oil tankers, and Iran has vowed that not one liter of oil would be exported from the Gulf while its war with the United States and Israel continues.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that US forces have struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels more than a week into the Middle East war.
Images of a ship at sea with plumes of smoke rising from a huge fire, were broadcast by state television channel Al-Ikhbariya. AFP could not verify the images.
An employee at Iraq’s Basra oil terminal told AFP that it was unclear “whether it was a drone attack or explosive-laden boats.”
The Iraqi State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) confirmed in a statement that two oil tankers were attacked, without providing details on how.
Maltese-flagged oil tanker ZEFYROS was attacked as it was preparing to enter the port of Khor Al-Zoubair, where it would have taken on board an additional 30,000 tons of liquid naphtha — primarily used in petrochemicals, SOMO said.
The second targeted vessel, SAFESEA VISHNU, was sailing under the Marshall Islands flag and was chartered by an Iraqi company, according to SOMO.
The incidents come just hours after the US embassy in Baghdad warned that Iran and Tehran-backed Iraqi armed groups might target US-owned oil facilities in Iraq.
