Turkey to Overhaul Intelligence Agency, Police Force after Coup

Turkish President Erdogan (Photo: AFP/Adem Altan)

ANKARA, ISTANBUL (Reuters)””Turkey will soon complete an overhaul of its intelligence agency and make new appointments to its police force as it tries to rid its security apparatus of the followers of a U.S.-based cleric blamed for an attempted coup, officials said on Wednesday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said new appointments in the police force, responsible for security in rural areas and key in the fight against Kurdish militants, would come within 48 hours. Interior Minister Efkan Ala said work on restructuring the MiT intelligence agency was ongoing and “should not take too long.”