A soldier linked to an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s
holiday residence during the July 15 failed coup attempt was captured in
southwestern Turkey on July 21, security sources have said.
State-run
Anadolu Agency quoted sources reporting that Lieutenant Ali Sarıbey is
accused of being among the soldiers who attacked Erdoğan’s hotel in
Marmaris.
Sarıbey was captured by police officers during a
vehicle check in the Ula district of the southwestern province of
Muğla.
The sources said Sarıbey was armed and dressed in civilian clothes.
An
operation is still underway to capture other troops who attacked the
hotel on the night of July 15, shortly after Erdoğan had left the area
for Istanbul after being alerted to the coup attempt.
More
than 6,000 people, around half of them military personnel, have been
detained following the coup attempt, which is said to have been
organized by followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen.
Gülen, a former ally of Erdoğan, is accused of a
long-running campaign to overthrow the government through supporters
within the Turkish state.