Turkish authorities continue to net alleged members of what they label a terrorist outfit led by US-based Sunni cleric Fethullah Gulen, issuing arrest warrants for 63 suspects, most of them military pilots. The officers are accused of involvement in the failed 2016 coup to bloodily overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey insists that Gulen, a former Erdogan ally until the pair fell out over the spoils of power, masterminded the abortive plot that left 250 people dead and propelled an avalanche of purges and detentions that show no signs of abating.

Ankara’s chief prosecutor said 46 of the 63 detainees are helicopter pilots on active military duty. Earlier this month, more than 100 soldiers and former cadets were rounded up on similar charges in raids across the country.

Turkey wants the United States to extradite Gulen, a green card holder who has lived in the United States since 1999 to evade prosecution on terror charges leveled by Turkey’s previous military backed pro-secular governments. Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal is expected to take up the issue alongside Turkey’s demands for a buffer zone in northern Syria during a planned visit to Washington next week, diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Gulen is accused of a sustained campaign of infiltrating the armed forces, the judiciary and key ministries through providing disciples with exam questions, among other tactics. The Turkish Armed Forces would routinely purge suspected Gulenists from its ranks before Erodgan’s Justice and Development party came to power in 2002. Such activities were paused until Erdogan declared open war on the Gulenists in 2013. Gulen denies all the charges.