Turkish police on Thursday conducted raids against businesses allegedly linked to United States-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of plotting the attempted coup in the country last month. Around 1,000 police officers took part in the operation, which included raids in 15 provinces and at least 100 addresses in Istanbul, AFP reported.

Prosecutors had issued at least 187 arrest warrants, with government authorities blaming suspects of financing Gulen's activities in the country. Turkey also passed an order to seize the assets of these 187 businessmen believed to have links with Gulen. Police on Thursday detains 60 of these suspects after conducting raids, according to media reports.

Security forces arrested around 100 people in a similar operation on Tuesday. According to Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, more than 40,000 state employees were detained in the crackdown against Gulen's alleged supporters following the coup attempt. At least 20,355 of them were remanded in custody.

The raids were conducted as the country began the process of releasing at least 38,000 prisoners to make space for those arrested for their role in the coup. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called all businesses, schools and charities linked to Gulen "nests of terror" and said they will be shut down. A court in Turkey had earlier issued an arrest warrant for the cleric, who has been based in the US since 1999.