Turkey wants German authorities to extradite people over links to terrorist groups

Turkey has delivered a list of 136 people it wants German authorities to extradite over suspected links to terrorist groups, Hurriyet newspaper quoted President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Monday.

Erdogan visited Berlin last week in an attempt to mend bilateral ties that have deteriorated since a number of German citizens were jailed in Turkey in a crackdown that has followed a failed coup in July 2016.

The newspaper quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on the flight home: "I don't know all of the names but it is a substantial list. A list of 136 people in Germany."

He did not specify which groups were included but was also quoted as saying Germany should be more effective in countering members of the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and leftist militant group DHKP-C.

A report by Germany-based broadcaster Deutsche Welle Turkey cited German government officials as saying Erdogan had not delivered a list.

There was no immediate response from the Berlin foreign ministry to a Reuters request for clarification.

In 2016, Germany extradited 55 people to Turkey including eight over alleged terrorism offences, according to German data, but extradition requests by Ankara since the coup attempt have borne little fruit.

Ankara says Gulen's network orchestrated the failed coup. He denies any involvement. Erdogan asked Germany during his visit to label Gulen's network a terrorist organisation but Berlin said it needed more evidence.

Erdogan said his administration had in the past delivered documents to Berlin containing the names of more than 4,000 people with links to the PKK, adding that there was a difference in the "understanding of terror" between Turkey and both Germany and the United States.

Ties between Ankara and Washington are also at a low ebb, and Erdogan said separately on Monday he would resist U.S. efforts to impose sanctions over the trial of a Christian pastor detained for two years in Turkey over alleged links to coup supporters. The pastor denies the allegations.

(With inputs from agencies.)