ISTANBUL, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Wednesday detained at least 39 people, including soldiers, over their alleged link to a U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding a failed coup in 2016.

Police launched simultaneous operations against 71 suspects in 23 provinces across the country, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Of the detained people, 36 were on active duty in the military, Anadolu said.

Earlier this week, Turkish authorities arrested 108 people, including soldiers, former teachers and former police officers in operations conducted in Ankara and Istanbul, over their alleged link to Gulen, who lives in exile in the United States.

Ankara blames Gulen and his network for the July 2016 coup attempt, in which 250 people were killed.