Turkey demands USA extradition of Fetullah Gulen

U.S.-Turkish tensions escalated Saturday after a quashed coup in Turkey, as the country's leader bluntly demanded the extradition of a U.S.-based cleric he accused of orchestrating the violence. Another senior official directly blamed the United States.

Turkey preparing a formal extradition request with detailed information about Gulen's involvement in illegal activities. One official from Turkey said the coup attempt was seen as "one more thing to add to an already extensive list."

Suleyman Soylu, Turkey's labor minister, went further than Erdogan, suggesting the U.S. was behind the coup.

"Public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told his Turkish counterpart, according to the State Department's readout of their telephone call.