Almost 13 thousand police officers suspended in Turkey

Turkish authorities have suspended 12,801 police officers from duty over their suspected links with US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his network, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup in July, police headquarters said on Tuesday.

Of the total number of police suspended across the country, 2,523 were police chiefs, the statement said. Turkey's total police force numbers about 250,000.

The move came after the Interior Ministry launched an investigation into the police force and a day after the Turkish government extended a state of emergency for another three months, Reuters reports.