14 Turkish navy ships still missing since attempted coup

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fourteen Turkish navy ships remained at sea and unaccounted for last night amid concerns that their commanders may be coup conspirators seeking to defect, The Times reports.

Admiral Veysel Kosele, the commander of the Turkish navy, has been out of contact since Friday night’s botched coup, a source confirmed. It is not known whether he was an instigator of the attempt to oust President Erdogan or is being held hostage by collaborators on the run.

Last night the president said that he was almost assassinated when the resort in southwest Turkey where he was staying was stormed and two of his bodyguards killed.

The missing ships were reportedly on active duty in either the Aegean or the Black Sea and have not tried to make contact with naval headquarters or report back to the port, The Independent says.

It is suspected they may be heading to Greek ports. On Saturday, eight Turkish military officers took a helicopter to Greece to seek asylum.

Authorities have rounded up thousands alleged to have been involved in the coup, in which 208 government supporters and 24 coup plotters were killed. The government says Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric, was behind the coup.