The US State Department said on Friday that Turkey has formally requested the extradition of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen but not on issues related to the recent coup attempt, which Turkish leaders have accused him of inspiring, Reuters reported.
"We can confirm now that Turkey has requested the extradition of Gulen," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a briefing. US officials earlier said they were reviewing documents submitted by Turkey but were not able to say they constituted an extradition request.
Toner told reporters the formal extradition request from Turkey was not related to the attempted coup earlier this year but was for other issues for which Gulen was being sought by authorities in Ankara.
On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.
However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people, excluding the coup plotters, and over 2,000 people were wounded.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.