Warrants issued in Turkey for arrest of 300 Presidential Guards, 283 in custody

People attend a rally at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 21, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

ANKARA -- Turkey has issued arrest warrants for 300 members of the Presidential Guards after a failed coup attempt, CNNTurk reported Friday.

It said 283 of the guards have already been arrested and that the operation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, over 10,000 passports have been reportedly cancelled "due to flight risk."

Latest figures reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency Friday show that more than 44,000 employees of state institutions have been suspended amid a nationwide probe into the July 15 coup attempt.

They were accused of alleged links to the failed coup and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of plotting the coup.

The Education Ministry announced the suspension of 21,738 civil servants, 21,029 of them teachers.

The Defense Ministry said 262 military judges and prosecutors had been sacked.

Trials for the suspects will take place at civilian courts in the Sincan district of Ankara, said Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.