Istanbul : Turkey on Wednesday detained more than 1,000 people and suspended over 9,100 police in a vast new crackdown against alleged supporters of the US-based preacher accused of orchestrating the coup bid against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Dawn raids across the country -- seeking more than 3,000 suspects -- were followed by a statement from police that 9,103 police officers were being suspended on suspicion of links to Fethullah Gulen.
The new wave of the crackdown came just over a week after Erdogan narrowly won a controversial referendum on ramping up his powers which opponents fear will hand him one man rule.
A total of 1,120 suspects have so far been detained, the official Anadolu news agency said.
Anadolu said 4,672 suspects were sought in Wednesday's raids -- of whom 1,448 are already in jail -- meaning that a total of 3,224 arrest warrants were issued.
About 8,500 police officers were involved in the nationwide operation, Anadolu reported, adding that arrest warrants had been issued for 390 suspects in Istanbul alone.
Meanwhile, the 9,103 police officers were being suspended on suspicion of links or contacts to Gulen's group, on the grounds of national security, the police force said in a statement on its website.
Turkish authorities blame Gulen for masterminding the July 2016 failed military coup that aimed to oust Erdogan from power but he denies the charges.
The government has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite Gulen, who has been living in exile there since 1999.
About 47,000 people have already been arrested in Turkey under a nine-month state of emergency in place since the coup bid, a crackdown whose magnitude has raised alarm in the West and caused further strife for Ankara's bid to join the EU.
The Turkish parliament two days after the referendum extended the state of emergency by another three months to July 19.
After the latest sweep, German foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said Berlin "has taken note of the mass detentions with concern", urging respect for rule of law.
EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said every individual had a right to a fair trial and empahasised that Turkey needed to respect the "highest democratic standards and practices".
