Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking to CNN-Turk through FaceTime, called the actions by the military “an attempt at an uprising by a minority within our armed forces”. NTV reported that one helicopter was shot down. Reports said that flights into Istanbul’s main global airport had been halted.
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Lawmakers are now hiding in shelters inside the building, one member of parliament told news agency Reuters.
Responding to news of the coup attempt, world leaders have been largely silent.
A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation official at alliance headquarters in Brussels told The Associated Press early Saturday that “we’re following events closely”, but said he had no other comment.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed the situation to NTV television around 11 a.m., saying, “It is correct that there was an attempt”.
In his address, the President blamed Fethullah Gulen, a high-profile political figure and religious scholar based in USA responsible for the coup, CNN reported.
The state-run news agency said more than 750 soldiers had been detained. Reuters witness hears blast in Istanbul.
The U.S. State Department is urging its citizens in Turkey to take shelter and not to go to the USA embassy or consulates in Turkey.
Turkey is one of the members of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and one of the most significant military forces in the middle east. Turkey is also one of the most important allies of the U.S.in the region in the war against terrorism. Condemns military intervention in Turkish politics, expresses concern about safety of citizens.
Turkey’s military said on Friday it had seized power, but the prime minister said the attempted coup would be put down and Mr Erdogan himself later vowed to punish the plotters.
They also called for restraint and the avoidance of violence or bloodshed.
Erodgan also said in comments broadcast live on private station NTV that the attempted coup was the work of followers of US based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a cleric Erdogan has long accused of attempting to use his followers in the judiciary and military to overthrow the government.
An injured woman draped in a Turkish flag is checked by others near military headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, July 16, 2016.
It is unclear, but Turkey’s foreign ministry said the coup attempt had been “foiled by the Turkish people in unity and solidarity”.
A Turkish soldier, arrested by civilians, is walked to be handed to police officers, in Istanbul’s Taksim square. Erdogan has not left the Istanbul airport as dawn broke Saturday.
2203: Turkish justice minister says members of a movement loyal to Gulen in the army are behind the attempted coup.
Witnesses reported on social media that flights were canceled at Turkey’s Istanbul airport, while Turkish military jets flew low over the city.
2135: Turkish state broadcaster TRT goes off air, but later starts broadcasting from London.
Meanwhile, the President of the Council of Europe this morning rejected a military coup attempt in Turkey late on Friday night.
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A local person has taken over the live broadcast in the early hours of Thursday, saying that the corridors of the building were under the control of the police’s special forces. He says he is returning to the capital Ankara. The senior official told The Associated Press that all government officials were in charge of their offices.
