Multiple blasts reportedly struck parliament in Ankara over the course of several hours, with lawmakers forced to retreat into shelters.
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“Turkish F-16s have launched air strikes against tanks outside the presidential palace”, the official said, adding that a military helicopter, which was involved in an attack against a Turkish satellite operator earlier, has been downed in the Golbasi district of Ankara.
Earlier he said the government was arresting coup supporters in the military and warned “they will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey”, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by his office.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says a military helicopter used by coup plotters has been shot down. Turkish Armed Forces are not involved in the coup attempt in its entirety.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an interview over FaceTime with the CNN Turk station, dismissed the military action as “an attempt at an uprising by a minority within our armed forces”.
Dramatic images showed dozens of soldiers walking away from their tanks with their hands up on one of Istanbul’s Bosphorus bridges, after they had closed it off to traffic all night.
An e-mail statement from the pro-coup faction insists, however, that they are still “determinedly” fighting.
The president claimed his hotel on Turkey’s Aegean coast was bombed after he left and that his general secretary, Hulusi Akar, was abducted by the coup makers. Mr Akar has since reportedly been rescued. Erdogan called on Turks to take to the streets across the country, and many did, marching through the streets of Izmir and Istanbul, waving Turkish flags and gathering in the main square in Ankara.
Soldiers then stormed Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT, forcing a presenter to read a statement live on air announcing that the military had “fully seized control” of the country.
Speaking in Mongolia at the Asia-Europe summit meeting, Tusk says “Turkey is a key partner for the European Union”.
Yildirim called on people to remain in the streets to support the government against coup plotters and appealed for patience.
There were unconfirmed reports of explosions at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, forcing the cancellation or diversion of all commercial flights. The senior official told The Associated Press that all government officials were in charge of their offices.
“There are widespread reports of gunfire and explosions in Ankara and Istanbul, and the military has been deployed to the streets”.
It is unclear who is leading the movement.
Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, is a key partner in US-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and has allowed American jets to use its Incirlik air base to fly missions against the extremists in nearby Syria and Iraq.
Mr Gulen, a former ally of Mr Erdogan, denied being behind the attempted coup and condemned it “in the strongest terms”.
The coup attempt began late Friday, with a statement from the military saying it had seized control “to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for law and order to be reinstated”.
The military statement went on to say that “all worldwide agreements and commitments will remain”.
It added: “We hope our good relations will continue with all countries in the world”.
Several world leaders, including United States president Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, have issued statements calling for calm. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and called for respect for democracy.
Irish travellers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel to Turkey.
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“Many thousands of Irish people holiday there each year”.
