At least 90 people were martyred and more than 1,000 others injured during the coup attempt. Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman said a bomb hit one corner of a public relations building inside the parliament complex, injuring some police officers.
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Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that a group within the military has engaged in what appeared to be an attempted coup.
As the fallout from the failed coup continued, Turkish foreign minister Mr Cavusoglu said the state had demanded the extradition of seven officers and one civilian who landed a military helicopter in Greece, seeking political asylum.
Erdogan flew into Ataturk airport early Saturday and was greeted by large crowds. The timing of the coup was “meaningful”, because the military will start meetings in the beginning of August, and those who staged the coup were afraid of the decisions that would be made at those meetings, Erdogan said.
But, he added, the Turkish people were “absolutely lovely, they are the most hospitable people you will ever meet, we couldn’t be in a better place really”.
The Foreign Office also says people at airports in Turkey should “follow the advice of the authorities and contact your airline or tour operator”.
Traffic on the Bosphorus bridge was mostly halted in the first stage of the attempted coup. President Barack Obama urged all sides to support Turkey’s democratically elected government.
This morning he returned to Istanbul and appeared in person, denouncing the coup attempt and insisting that his government was in full control.
“They won’t succeed as long as we stand against them by risking everything”.
“This military attempt to force regime change in Turkey is a blatant disregard for the democratic process and totally undermines the will of the Turkish people”, the Hope Pact said in a statement, underlining its solidarity with Turkey’s president and people.
European Council President Donald Tusk said the country was “a key partner for the European Union” and called for a “swift return to Turkey’s constitutional order”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks to remain on the streets Saturday, as his forces regained control after a spectacular coup bid by discontented soldiers that claimed more than 250 lives.
Armed soldiers were spotted at strategic points across both cities, jets flew low over Ankara, and local broadcaster CNN Turk was taken over by forces, … even cutting live broadcast.
In a separate statement, Kerry said the US viewed the “very fluid situation” in Turkey with the “gravest concern”.
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Government officials blamed the coup attempt on a U.S.-based Islamist cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Since July 2, global flight reservations to Istanbul for journeys in the 2nd half of the year were down 36 percent from a year earlier, travel data analysis company ForwardKeys said on its website.
