Erdogan will demand US, West to extradite Gulen

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the Turkish foreign and justice ministries would officially submit an extradition request to the US and the Wast for US-based Islamist scholar Fethullah Gulen and his followers.

Ankara accused Gulen of plotting Friday's coup attempt.

Gulen denied knowledge of the coup to reporters at his Pennsylvania compound on Saturday. The cleric said that he knows only a "minute fraction" of his legions of sympathizers in Turkey, so he cannot speak to their "potential involvement" in the takeover attempt. 

Erdogan and Gulen, former political allies, have fallen out in recent years over Erdogan's years-long crackdown on domestic dissent and Turkey's once-open media landscape.

The Turkish government detained thousands in the military after quashing the coup attempt and reasserting control of the country's two major cities. 

Authorities said at least 265 people were killed in the violence and more than 1,400 others wounded.

Source: MENA