“General Hulusi Akar has been taken hostage by a group in the military who attempted an uprising”, the agency said citing “credible sources”.
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Turkey’s police chief, Celalettin Lekesiz, was quoted saying that 16 supporters of the coup had been killed in clashes at Turkey’s military police command. Mr. Lekesiz said 250 others there were arrested.
She said: “I was watching things from my terrace, watching the military vehicles on the Bosphorus Bridge and then these sonic booms started”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared on Turkish television asking supporters to occupy streets and squares and vowing to hit back at those behind the coup.
After hours of chaos unseen in decades, the president ended uncertainty over his whereabouts, flying into Istanbul airport in the early hours where he made a defiant speech and was greeted by hundreds of supporters.
Officials said the coup appeared to have failed as Turks took to the streets overnight to confront troops attempting to take over the country.
Factions within the Turkish military attempted to seize control of the government on late Friday night, leaving the Parliament building bombed, jets swarming over Istanbul and at least 42 killed in the capital Ankara, according to a prosecutor’s office there.
Turkey is one of the main backers of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country’s civil war, host to 2.7 million Syrian refugees and launchpad a year ago for the biggest influx of migrants to Europe since World War Two. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Soldiers also opened shot at protesters angrily denouncing the coup bid at Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square, injuring several.
According to the Anatolia news agency, around 1,800 people, including 750 police officers and 80 soldiers, have been detained as part of a crackdown against Gulen followers in the last two years.
He says: “There is nowhere they have they have proper control. God willing they will be defeated in the remaining areas and those in the air will be brought down”.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim ordered the military to shoot down aircraft being used by coup plotters. People, some holding flags, climbed onto the tanks.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and called for crowds to take the streets to support him.
Erdogan says: “They have pointed the people’s guns against the people”. “Some people think it is the military taking over, but most people think it is the president trying to create a chaotic environment to change the system and take all the power to himself”, said Turkish citizen Beyza Sahin.
Its secular-minded military has led at least three government takeovers since 1960, not counting its nonviolent “post-modern coup” in 1997 that chased an Islamist party from power.
Yildirim said a group within Turkey’s military had attempted to overthrow the government and security forces have been called in to “do what is necessary”.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she supported Turkey’s civilian government and was following the events in Turkey “with great concern”.
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“I call for calm and restraint, and full respect for Turkey’s democratic institutions and its constitution”. Tanks are also said to be stationed outside Istanbul airport.
