'Armed intruder' chased from Gulen's US compound, Turkish cleric's group says

An armed intruder was chased away after attempting to enter the compound of a US-based Turkish preacher accused of masterminding a failed 2016 coup in his homeland, the cleric's organisation said on Wednesday.

The man, "who appeared to be armed," attempted to enter the group's retreat centre in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, a statement released by Fethullah Gulen's Alliance for Shared Values said.

“A guard reacted to the situation with a warning shot in the air and the person fled," it added, although police were unable to confirm details about the incident.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen - a cleric he once regarded as an ally - for the July 15, 2016 coup plot that saw 250 killed, not including the plotters.

Ankara wants Gulen extradited from the United States and has expressed impatience over Washington's failure to hand him over, with the issue a major bone of contention in Turkey-US ties.

Gulen's group claimed the attempted entry was linked to the Turkish government, noting it came after Erdogan's spokesman said Ankara would launch "overseas 'operations'" against Gulen and his supporters.

On Monday, the brother of the US-based preacher was jailed for more than 10 years, Turkish state media said.

A court in the Aegean city of Izmir sentenced Kutbettin Gulen, who was first detained in October 2016, to 10 years and six months in jail, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

He had been charged with "membership of an armed terror group". 

Kutbettin Gulen, who is held in jail in the nearby region of Denizli, did not take part in the hearing in person but his lawyer was present, Anadolu said. 

Gulen's supporters ridicule the description of his group by the Turkish authorities as the Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO), saying he merely runs a peaceful organisation called Hizmet (Service).

According to previous Turkish media reports, Gulen has three living brothers, Mesih, Salih and Kutbettin, as well as two who are dead, Seyfullah and Hasbi. He also has two sisters, Nurhayat and Fazilet. Their current whereabouts are not known.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in the crackdown that followed the failed coup in a sweep aimed at eradicating all influence of the Gulen movement in Turkey.    

Kutbettin is the only sibling of Gulen believed to have been arrested in the crackdown, although at least two nephews have been jailed.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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