In a speech on July 29, 2016, President Erdoğan accused CENTCOM chief Joseph Votel of "siding with coup plotters" after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon's contacts in Turkey. "Yeni Şafak", a Turkish pro-government newspaper, claimed that the former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, now-retired U.S. Army General John F. Campbell, was the "mastermind" behind the coup attempt in Turkey. In late July 2016, Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım told "The Guardian": "Of course, since the leader of this terrorist organisation is residing in the United States, there are question marks in the minds of the people whether there is any U.S. involvement or backing. On 19 July, an official request had been sent to the US for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen. Senior U.S. officials said this evidence pertained to certain pre-coup alleged subversive activities.