Turkish Rear Admiral Mustafa Ugurlu has formally requested asylum in the United States, following a Turkish government "detention order" which sought to capture him in the wake of last month's failed military coup. Turkey has rounded up large numbers of generals and admirals in a broad purge of military leadership since the coup.

Rear Admiral Ugurlu is in a different situation, however, because he was stationed in Virginia at the time of the coup, at NATO's Allied Command Transformation headquarters in Norfolk. Turkish embassy officials say that on July 22, he left his badges and ID at the base and "disappeared," refusing to turn himself in for detention.

Though US officials declined to offer any details on the case itself, they did confirm that "an unnamed rear admiral" was now seeking asylum in the United States. This is clearly Ugurlu, as he was the only Turkish officer of that rank within the United States at the time.