ANKARA: Defying international alarm, Turkey on Tuesday widened its crackdown after a failed coup, detaining top generals serving in Afghanistan as well as prominent journalists.

In a move apparently reflecting a shift in diplomatic strategy, Turkey also announced President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin next month after months of chill between the two countries.

Two senior Turkish generals serving in the Nato force in Afghanistan were detained at Dubai airport on suspicion of links to the attempt to overthrow Erdogan, an official said.

The source named the pair as Major General Mehmet Cahit Bakir, the commander of Turkey’s task force in Afghanistan, and Brigadier General Sener Topuc.

The detentions followed cooperation between Turkish intelligence and UAE authorities, the state-run Anadolu news agency added, saying the pair were now being brought to Turkey.

“The Turkish contingent continues its mission,” a spokesman for the Nato force in Afghanistan said, without further comment.

In a separate development, police were searching a naval academy just outside Istanbul in a probe into coup plotters, reports said.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2016