Turkey removes 8,000 police across country - security official

A plain clothes policeman holds a weapon in front of a police vehicle in the resort town of Marmaris, Turkey July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey removed 8,000 police across the country, including in Istanbul and the capital Ankara due to alleged links with Friday's failed coup attempt, a senior security official told Reuters on Monday. The moves come days after a failed coup attempt the government blames on a "parallel state" led by self-exiled Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay, writing by Dasha Afanasieva)