Turkish military in attempted coup, prime minister says

All times in GMT, based on the times Reuters reported the events. Reuters does not vouch for events reported by other media.

Yildirim told private NTV television: “it is correct that there was an attempt”, when asked if there was a coup.

“We have consistently denounced military interventions in domestic politics”. The justice minister earlier blamed Gulen loyalists.

Turkey’s armed forces said it “fully seized control” of the country Friday and its president responded by calling on Turks to take to the streets in a show of support for the government.

Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, is a key partner in U.S.-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.

But the military did not appear unified, with top commanders taking to television to condemn the action and order troops back to their barracks. The military has a history of mounting coups to defend secularism, but has not seized power directly since 1980. This government brought to power by the people is in charge. He urged his supporters to take to the streets and rally in support of the government. The real question will be what ramifications the events will have for anyone in Turkey still identified as a Gulenist after Erdogan blamed the coup on the movement.

Tanks opened fire around the Turkish parliament building, Reuters reported. Airport operations have been disrupted, including at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

The Turkish government told media the attempted coup was unsuccesful and had now ended, amid reports of a bomb going off at the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

Shortly afterwards, TRT went off the air.

2126: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urges people to take to the streets to protest against what he describes as a coup attempt by a minority faction within the military.

In an interview with CNN Turk Erdogan told a reporter on the station from the screen of a smartphone that he believed the uprising would be resolved “within a short time”.

At least 42 people were killed in the capital, NTV quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying.

2122: Turkish PM says on Twitter everything will be done to put down coup attempt, even if it means fatalities.

“I’m making a call out to my people”.

Erdogan, who served as prime minister for more than a decade before winning presidential elections two years ago, then promised to hunt down the Gulenists “in their lairs”.

A group within Turkey’s military has engaged in what appeared to be an attempted coup, the prime minister said, with military jets flying over the capital and reports of vehicles blocking two major bridges in Istanbul.

CNN Turk, which is part of the same broadcast center, reported that soldier have entered their building in the Dogan Media Center.

2057: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media restricted in Turkey, say internet monitoring groups.

During the fighting, 17 police officers were killed in a helicopter attack on police special forces headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara, Anadolu said.

Military units have attempted an uprising in Turkey.

The coup began with warplanes and helicopters roaring over Ankara and troops moving in to seal off the bridges over the Bosphorus that link Europe and Asia in Istanbul.

Witnesses reported hearing two explosions near Istanbul’s Taksim Square, while AP reported that the police and the military once again exchanged fire on the square.

Footage by Turkey’s Dogan News Agency showed cars and buses being diverted from the bridges as a result of the unprecedented closures.