Police chiefs 'sacked' in Turkey amid fears of feud

Turkish police chiefs who oversaw a wave of high-profile arrests for bribery have been sacked from their posts in Istanbul, the BBC reported, citing Turkish media. 

Five police chiefs are said to have been fired in Istanbul a day after at least 52 people were picked up, including sons of cabinet ministers.

Tuesday's arrests in dawn raids shocked the political establishment.

They are being seen as an attack on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a feud with a former ally.

Fethullah Gulen, an influential Islamic scholar living in exile in the US, once backed the ruling AK Party, helping it to victory in three elections since 2002.

His followers are said to hold influential positions in institutions from the police and secret services to the judiciary and the AK Party itself.

In recent months, the alliance began to come apart and in November the government discussed closing down private schools, including those run by Mr Gulen's movement, Hizmet.

In a speech after Tuesday's wave of arrests, Mr Erdogan vowed not to bow to any "threat" or "dirty alliances" aimed at creating division within the ruling party.

"Turkey is not a banana republic or a third-class tribal state," he said, speaking in the city of Konya, an AK stronghold. "Nobody inside or outside my country can stir up or trap my country."