Turkey picks up another 120 soldiers

istanbul - A Turkish prosecutor ordered the pre-trial detention of 120 suspects from the army, said state press agency Anadolu Thursday. It is the umpteenth crackdown by the government after the failed coup attempt in 2016.

The police began simultaneous raids in 43 provinces to pick up the suspects, 58 of whom would be users of the banned ByLock messaging app, Anadolu said. Turkey forbade ByLock in the aftermath of the coup attempt. Followers of the Islamic spiritual Fethullah Gülen used the app to communicate with each other on the night of the coup. More than 240 people were killed in the attempted coup.

Gülen, who has lived in the United States since 1999, has always denied his involvement and condemned the coup d'état.

More than 50,000 people have been jailed in anticipation of a lawsuit about alleged links with Gülen. Another 150,000 people have been laid off or suspended from the military, public and private sectors.