Turkey expels 73 more personnel from armed forces

Turkey said it has expelled 73 more personnel from its armed forces as part of an ongoing effort to rid the military of whom it says followers of the alleged mastermind of the failed July 15 coup.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense said on its official Twitter account Wednesday that the expelled personnel belonged to the air force.

It said the dismissals have strengthened the military "as it gets rid of traitor FETO," a reference to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of being behind the coup attempt. Gulen denies this.

The announcement comes after last week's dismissal of 820 military personnel, of whom 648 were jailed.

It's estimated that more than 5,000 military personnel have so far been discharged since the coup, including 151 generals and admirals.

Source: MENA