Turkey's General Staff said Saturday eight military officers have been detained in an ongoing probe into an alleged plot to assassinate a deputy prime minister, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The officers were detained early Saturday morning after public prosecutors searched overnight their work place, the Mobilization Regional
Directorate in Ankara, as part of the probe, the General Staff was quoted as saying in a note on its website.
The investigation was launched after two military officers were reportedly caught on a street near Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc's
house in Ankara last Saturday on suspicion of trying to assassinate the minister.
The General Staff said earlier this week the two officers were collecting intelligence of another military officer living in the same area
who was suspected of leaking confidential information. It has said no weapons, voice recorders or other technical devices were found in the vehicles or houses of the two officers.
Military personnel joined the search on Friday night and the eight detainees were taken to Ankara Central Command headquarters, Anatolia said.
Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug said Friday the General Staff might give complementary information about the issue at a proper time later.
"We may have left some questions unanswered, however there is nothing we can add to our remarks at the moment," Anatolia quoted Basbug as saying.