Dozens held in Turkey over secularist 'coup'

Police have detained more suspects in a new wave of arrests connected with an alleged secularist plot to bring down the Islamic-rooted government of Turkey. The detentions followed police raids on about 30 locations across Turkey.

The state-run Anatolia news agency said the headquarters of a secularist metal workers' trade union and an opposition television station were raided. The prosecutor, Turan Colakkadi, would not say how many people were detained in the raids, which threaten to aggravate tensions between secularists and Islamists. News reports said dozens were arrested, and more arrests may follow.

Many see the investigation as the latest battle between the government and secularists backed by the military and the judiciary, who consider themselves the protectors of Turkey's secular system. The conflict reached a peak in July when the Constitutional Court ruled against disbanding Turkey's ruling party.