11.01pm: Rebels take Greek ship

One group of Turkish rebels took over a warship and held the head of the country’s navy hostage, according to a Greek military source. Admiral Bulent Bostanoglu is said to have been captured along with the frigate TCG Yavuz at the Golcuk base. The ship was taken from the base, but later returned. Commander of the Air Force, General Abidin Unal, was also captured.

10.28pm:Religious leaders condemn coup

Leaders of Turkey’s religious communities have released a joint statement condemning the attempted coup.

The statement from representatives of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities declares “our great sorrow over the terrorist attacks that disturb the peace of our great nation and of the world.” The signatories include the president of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos and the Chief rabbi of Turkey’s Jewish community.

9.02pm:Plotters escape to Greece

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey has demanded the extradition of officers who escaped to Greece, NTV television reports.

Greece’s defense ministry says seven military personnel and one civilian have landed there in a Blackhawk military helicopter and asked for asylum. They were arrested for illegal entry.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency quotes Cavusoglu as saying that “we have demanded the immediate return of the eight treacherous officers who fled to Greece by helicopter.”

7.32pm: Coup ‘an act of terrorism’

Turkish Prime Minister Benali Yildirim says 161 people were killed in the country’s overnight military coup attempt. He says another 1,400 people were wounded in the chaos. More than 2,800 people have been detained.

He described the night as a “dark stain for Turkish democracy” and pinned blame for the coup on the “parallel terrorist organization.” That term is used by authorities to describe the movement of U.S.-based Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen.

“They will receive every punishment they deserve,” the prime minister said, noting the perpetrators were now in the hands of the justice system.

6.42pm:Betrayal ‘will not go unpunished’

Turkey’s newly appointed acting chief of the general staff, General Umit Dundar says 1,563 soldiers have been arrested in the attempted military coup overnight. He added that those who took part in the betrayal will not go unpunished.

Dundar says Turkey’s military is determined to purge members of the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who is living in exile in Pennsylvania, from the ranks.

“Our people should have no concern, that the era of coups and juntas have come to a close, never to be opened again,” Dundar says.

6.20pm:Clashes result in 190 deaths

Umit Dundar, the newly appointed acting chief of the general staff, said more than 190 people died in clashes: 41 police officers, two soldiers, 47 civilians and 104 people described as “coup plotters.” Dundar said officers from the Air Force, the military police and the armored units were mainly involved in the attempt.

5.07pm: Death toll rises to 90

Close to 200 soldiers at the Turkish military headquarters have surrendered, the state-run Anadolu news agency has reported.

A total of 1,563 military officers have been detained throughout Turkey.

4.37pm:US and EU support Erdogan’s government

The United States is calling on all parties in Turkey to support President Tayyip Erdogan’s government as world leaders expressed concern about the upheaval in the NATO member country.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone and gave their support to Erdogan after Turkey’s military said it had seized power on Friday.

By early Saturday, Erdogan appeared to have regained control. “The President and Secretary agreed all parties in Turkey should support the democratically-elected government of Turkey, show restraint, and avoid any violence or bloodshed,” the White House said in a statement.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey since 2003 and if the coup against him was successful it would have been one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years.

The sharp-tongued Erdogan is often accused of authoritarian rule at home and has frequently fallen out with neighbours such as Israel, Iran, Russia and the European Union as he tried to carve out a greater role for Turkey in the Middle East.

But Turkey is a key ally for Washington which has often pointed to the country as a good example of a free-market democracy in the Muslim world, even though it has a poor record on freedom of expression.

European Council President Donald Tusk meanwhile called for a swift return to Turkey’s constitutional order, saying tensions there could not be resolved by guns.

“Turkey is a key partner for the European Union. The EU fully supports the democratically elected government, the institutions of the country and the rule of law,” he said at summit in Mongolia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed the sentiments.

4.06pm: Head of armed forces ‘rescued’

Turkey’s state-run news agency has reported that the head of the armed forces, General Hulusi Akar has been rescued from Akincilar Air Base, where he had been taken hostage. CNN Turkey reports that Akar will now take over the command of the anti-coup operation.

2.58pm:Hundreds arrested

Scores of members from Turkish armed forces were arrested across the country after a coup attempt blamed by the government on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

754 members of Turkish armed forces were arrested for involvement in the coup, the agency said. A Turkish official added that 29 colonels and five generals had been removed from their posts. At least 60 people were killed in the turmoil.

2.37pm:Soldiers surrender

Footage emerges of soldiers surrendering their position on the Bosphorus Bridge.

2.36pm:Preacher denounces coup

Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric and former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denied being behind the attempted coup in Turkey and condemned it “in the strongest terms”.

“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations,” Gulen said in a brief statement just before midnight Friday.

“I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey,” read the two-paragraph statement.

“Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force.

“I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly.” Erdogan has accused the reclusive Islamic preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono Mountains of the US state of Pennsylvania, of being behind the coup.

Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.

Gulen, 75, was once a close ally of Erdogan but the two fell out in recent years as Erdogan became suspicious of Gulen’s movement, Hizmet, and its powerful presence in Turkish society, including the media, police and judiciary.

The preacher moved to the United States in 1999, before he was charged with treason in his native country.

1.56pm:‘The government is in charge’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his nation that his government is in charge after a coup attempt brought a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire across the capital that left dozens dead and at least 150 people wounded.

Government officials said the coup appeared to have failed as Turks took to the streets overnight to confront troops attempting to take over the country. However, the sounds of huge blasts, including at least one bomb that hit the parliament complex, continued to echo across the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul throughout the morning.

Addressing crowds outside Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Saturday morning, Erdogan told a crowd assembled there: “They have pointed the people’s guns against the people. The president, whom 52 percent of the people brought to power, is in charge. This government brought to power by the people, is in charge. They won’t succeed as long as we stand against them by risking everything.”

Earlier, Erdogan 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.

“Those who stain the military’s reputation must leave. The process has started today, and it will continue just as we fight other terrorist groups.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, said more than 120 arrests were made and has called all legislators for an emergency meeting Saturday.

Erdogan, who said his general secretary had been abducted by the coup plotters, flew into Ataturk airport early Saturday and was greeted by large crowds. Hours earlier, as the coup attempt got underway, his office declined to say where he was, and he was forced to give an interview over FaceTime to a television station. The chaos capped a period of political turmoil in Turkey which critics blamed on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, which has included a government shake-up, a crackdown on dissidents and opposition media and renewed conflict in the mainly Kurdish areas of the southeast.

Erdogan’s extravagant presidential palace, built in 2014.

1.16pm:A ‘deeply divisive’ President

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently facing down an attempted military coup, is the most divisive leader in the history of the modern republic.

Adored by his supporters as a transformative figure who modernised Turkey, his foes have painted him as an increasingly despotic leader who ruthlessly shuts down any criticism.

Turkey has suffered a wave of deadly bombings as Erdogan’s government pursues twin military campaigns against Kurdish rebels in the south and the Islamic State group in neighbouring Syria.

And his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has long been accused of seeking to impose conservative Islamic values on society - a possible point of friction with a military that has long seen itself as the guardian of Turkey’s secular state.

Read more here.

1.01pm:Erdogan arrives in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he did not know the whereabouts of Turkey’s top general after an attempted coup.

“I don’t know the circumstances regarding the chief of staff” General Hulusi Akar, Erdogan told reporters after flying into Istanbul, following reports earlier on state media he was taken hostage by the coup plotters.

President Erdogan supporters in Taksim Square, istanbul.

12.56pm:Opponent of social media resorts to Twitter

The attempted military coup in Turkey exploded across social media late on Friday despite restricted access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube during the first hours of the putsch.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, an avowed enemy of social media who has frequently made Twitter and Facebook a target, addressed the country via a FaceTime video call that was shown on TV.

He also tweeted: “I call our nation to the airports and the squares to take ownership of our democracy and our national will,” and retweeted posts from the prime minister and the official presidency account condemning the uprising.

Critics of Erdogan were quick to note the irony of his using a medium that he has repeatedly denounced to save his own presidency. At the same time supporters and opponents of the coup inundated social networks with commentary and images, many of them live videos.

Vivid but often confusing scenes from Turkey unfolded on screens across the world as videos showed explosions at the Turkish parliament, helicopters firing on protesters and opponents of the coup standing in front of tanks.

“It’s almost 2am and mosques across Istanbul are relentlessly calling people to the streets to resist and protest the military coup,” wrote Twitter user Ceylan Yeginsu.

Backers of the coup criticised Erdogan’s rule, using social media to urge government opponents to take to the streets.

A map of all Facebook Live videos showed dozens of live streams coming out of Turkey, including videos of hundreds of people in the streets. On Twitter users shared images and videos of scenes in Istanbul and Ankara, with gunshots heard in the background of some videos.

Turkey’s military said on Friday it had seized power, but the prime minister said the attempted coup would be put down and Erdogan later vowed to punish the plotters.

During the initial phases of the uprising by a section of the military, it was difficult or impossible to access social media for many users except by using a “virtual private network” to bypass local internet providers, local residents and monitoring groups said.

Twitter said it suspected an “intentional slowing” of its traffic. YouTube said it was aware of reports its site was down in Turkey although it was not experiencing any apparent technical difficulties, indicating an order to restrict access had come from within Turkey.

The Turkish government under Erdogan has repeatedly moved to block social media in periods of crisis and political uncertainty.

Tanks crushed a car during the uprising.

12.50pm:42 dead in clashes

Dozens of people were killed in clashes in the Turkish capital as groups inside the army attempted to bring down the government, local media reported, citing the prosecutor’s office.

Forty-two people, 17 of them police and others civilians, were killed in Ankara, NTV reported, citing the chief prosecutor’s office in the capital’s Golbasi district.

12.53pm:‘They will pay a heavy price’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the nation Saturday that his government was working to crush a coup attempt after a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire across the capital that left dozens dead and at least 150 people wounded.

Government officials said the coup appeared to have failed as Turks took to the streets overnight to confront troops attempting to take over the country. However, the sounds of huge blasts, including at least one bomb that hit the parliament complex, continued to ring out in the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul throughout the morning.

Speaking on national television from Istanbul, Erdogan 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. ‘‘Those who stain the military’s reputation must leave. The process has started today and it will continue just as we fight other terrorist groups.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, said more than 120 arrests were made.

Erdogan, who said his general secretary had been abducted by the coup plotters, flew into Istanbul’s Ataturk airport early Saturday and was greeted by large crowds. Hours earlier, as the coup attempt got underway, his office declined to say where he was, and he was forced to give an interview over FaceTime to a television station. The chaos capped a period of political turmoil in Turkey which critics blamed on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, which has included a government shake-up, a crackdown on dissidents and opposition media and renewed conflict in the mainly Kurdish areas of the southeast.

12.35pm:US-based preacher denies involvement

Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the coup attempt in Turkey, has a wide following in his native country, where he enjoys support among the police and judiciary.

The reclusive Islamic preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono Mountains of the US state of Pensylvania, was immediately accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday of being behind the coup attempt.

His movement, however, denied involvement, saying in a statement that it was committed to democracy and was opposed to any military intervention.

Gulen, 75, was once a close ally of Erdogan but the two fell out in recent years, as Erdogan became suspicious of the so-called Gulenist movement’s powerful presence in Turkish society, including the media, police and judiciary.

The preacher moved to the US in 1999, before he was charged with treason in his native country.

He has since led a secluded life in Pennsylvania, declining interviews and rarely making public appearances.

The power struggle between the two foes came to a head in late 2013 after judicial officials thought to be close to Gulen brought corruption charges that directly implicated some of Erdogan’s inner circle, including his son Bilal.

Erdogan launched a series of counterattacks, purging hundreds of army officers, including top generals, shutting down schools operated by Gulen’s movement, Hizmet, and firing hundreds of police officers.

He has also gone after newspapers believed to be sympathetic to his rival, firing their editors or shutting them down.

Turkish authorities have accused the preacher of seeking to establish “a state within a state” in Turkey, but his movement insists he is committed to democratic reform and interfaith dialogue.

“For more than 40 years, Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet participants have advocated for, and demonstrated their commitment to, peace and democracy,” the Alliance for Shared Values said in a statement on Friday.

“We have consistently denounced military interventions in domestic politics. These are core values of Hizmet participants. We condemn any military intervention in domestic politics of Turkey.” The group said it did not wish to speculate on the unfolding crisis in Turkey and denounced as “highly irresponsible” comments by Erdogan’s supporters concerning the Muslim cleric’s possible involvement in the coup attempt.

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.

Some 280 of them are still in jail pending trial, the agency said. Gulen’s movement advocates a mix of Sufi mysticism and harmony among people based on the teachings of Islam.

12.15pm:Orders to shoot down plane

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has instructed the military to shoot down an aircraft hijacked by coup plotters, an official said.

“Fighter jets have left the air base in Eskisehir” in western Turkey with the aim of hunting down the rogue craft, the official said.

Report confirms parliament building in Ankara had been bombed. Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman says police were injured, but none fatally. All legislators are safe at a parliamentary shelter.

Meanwhile in Istanbul, an official at the president’s office says more than 50 military officers have been arrested in Istanbul and large crowds have carried out multiple citizen arrests.

Turkish TV channels are broadcasting scenes of soldiers being escorted away by policemen.

An official at Haydarpasa Numune Hospital in the Uskudar district of Istanbul said they have admitted at least 150 wounded.

The official refused to comment whether there were fatalities. Earlier, NTV reported that six dead were brought to the same facility.

Private NTV television is showing footage of large crowds gathering at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport to greet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he emerged from a vehicle upon landing.

The state-run Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed military sources, says the leader of the attempted coup is Colonel Muharrem Kose. The agency says Kose, who headed the military’s legal advisory department, was dismissed from the position a short time ago. The agency says other officers involved include Colonel Mehmet Oguz Akkus, Major Erkan Agin and Lieutenant Colonel Dogan Uysal.

Two large explosions have been heard near Taksim square in Istanbul, where police and military were exchanging fire. The blasts were accompanied by the screech of fighter jets.

The area was surrounded by military but some soldiers have been taken into custody by police.

Civilians surround armed soliders at Taksim Square, Istanbul.

11.42am: Coup ‘unsuccessful'

A top Turkish official says the coup attempt within the country’s military appears to have been unsuccessful.

The senior official told The Associated Press all government officials are in charge of their offices, but cautioned that the chief of military staff hasn’t appeared in public yet.

The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Earlier, a spokesman for Turkey’s national intelligence agency, MIT, said that the attempt to seize control had been defeated. Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told NTV television: “The military commanders have made it clear that the coup plotters violated the chain of command... The people have shown that they stand in solidarity with democracy and the elected government.”

Turkish media reports have cited MIT, the national intelligence agency, as saying the coup has been defeated.

MIT spokesman Nuh Yilmaz said that Gen. Hulusi Akar, the military chief of staff, was back in control.

Yilmaz said: “General Akar is back on top of his duties.” He added: “Everything is returning to normal”

The state-run Anadolu Agency earlier said a bomb had hit the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

CNN-Turk television reported some police officers and parliament workers were hurt in the bomb attack.

A resident living not far from the area told the AP he heard a massive explosion that shook buildings and saw a column of smoke but could not confirm if it was coming from parliament itself. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, also said fighter jets were flying low in the area.

11.29am: Civilians stop tanks

A Turkish national intelligence spokesman says coup attempt has been “repelled,” AP reports.

Photographs show unarmed civilians trying to stop tanks manned by members of the military coup.

Turkish air force planes are flying above Ankara to strike at military helicopters that are being used by those attempting a coup.

Private broadcaster NTV reported that F-16 jets have brought down a Sikorsky helicopter, but didn’t provide any details.

Anadolu Agency also reported 17 police officers had been killed in a helicopter attack on police special forces headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara.

NTV also showed what it said were images from a police station in Istanbul, showing military officers allegedly detained by police.

Meanwhile, the commander of Turkey’s military special forces, General Zekai Aksakalli, said “those who are attempting a coup will not succeed”.

He told NTV television by telephone: “Our people should know that we will overcome this... We are in control of the situation.” He said some deaths and injuries were reported during the coup attempt, without providing any details.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE

A badly wounded man lies on the ground after clashes with Turkish military at the Bosphorus bridge.

People loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the streets of Antalya, Turkey, last night.

11.03am:Troops open fire

Turkish military forces have opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt, causing casualties, an AFP photographer said.

The soldiers opened fire on grounds around the first bridge across the Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia, said the photographer, who saw wounded people being taken to ambulances.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Sikorsky helicopter hijacked by coup plotters seeking to oust the government, a presidential source said.

Seventeen police officers were also killed earlier at the military’s special forces headquarters in the capital Ankara, state-run Anadolu news agency reported, without giving further details.

State-run Anadolu Agency says Turkish Air Force planes are flying above Ankara to strike at helicopters that are being used by those attempting the coup.

Tanks move into position as Turkish people attempt to stop them, in Ankara, Turkey.

EARLIER: Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala says very effective units from the chief of general staff’s office, the Turkish armed forces and the police are responding to the attempted coup in the country.

Ala says they are responding to “gangs who have taken cover in certain locations.” He spoke by telephone to NTV television and also encouraged Turkish citizens to “fearlessly go out and support our security forces.” He says: “We think it would be right for them to go out to the airports, to the streets, especially to the main arteries. As long as they do that this gang’s attempts... they will be defeated no matter what... This is a gang that considers nothing sacred, not the people or the nation.”

UPDATE: Loud explosions have been heard in Turkey’s capital Ankara and CNN-Turk reports an explosion occurred at the state-run television building.

Turkey’s state-run news agency report military helicopters have also attacked the headquarters of TURKSAT satellite station on the outskirts of Ankara and the Ankara Police headquarters.

Dozens of tanks were seen moving toward a palace that is now used by the prime minister and deputy prime ministers. A civilian car tried to stop one of the tanks, but it rammed through the vehicle as those in the car escaped.

Unarmed civilians try to stop a tank on the streets of Ankara.

EARLIER: Turkey’s president has urged citizens to take to the streets in a show of support for the government after the military said it seized full control of the country.

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.” The president’s office refused to disclose Erdogan’s whereabouts, saying he was at a secure location. Erdogan said “I don’t believe this coup attempt will be successful... There is absolutely no chain of command here. Right now the chain of command has been put on hold.”

The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on developments in key NATO ally Turkey where the military claims to have seized power in a coup.

The National Security Council said Obama had been apprised of Friday “unfolding situation” in Turkey and would continue to get regular updates.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says he hopes for stability and continuity in Turkey following the reports.

Kerry, in Moscow for talks with Russian officials on Syria on Friday, told reporters he didn’t have details of the situation rapidly unfolding on the ground in Turkey and said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on developments. But, he expressed hope that the key ally and strategically important member of the coalition fighting the Islamic State would remain at peace.

President Obama has repeatedly expressed concern about authoritarian steps taken by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But Turkey is a key NATO ally and part of the coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The US has military assets at Incirlik Air Base, carrying out strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Turkish troops launched a coup last night, with soldiers taking to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul as the prime minister vowed the putschists would “pay the highest price”.

Jets screeched low overhead in the capital, while citizens rushed for the safety of their homes.

State broadcaster TRT said the military had declared martial law and a curfew, in a statement signed by a group calling itself the “Council for Peace in the Homeland”.

“The power in the country has been seized in its entirety,” said a military statement quoted by Turkish media.

It said the coup had been launched “to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms and let the supremacy law in the country prevail, to restore order which was disrupted”.

“All our international agreements and commitments retain their validity,” the statement added.

“We hope our good relations will continue with all countries in the world.” Television pictures showed tanks deployed outside Ataturk airport in Istanbul. Reports said that flights into the airport had been halted.

Turkish soldiers blocking Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge, which connects the European and Asian sides of the city.

Russian tourists told to stay indoors

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials have called on their countrymen in Turkey to stay indoors amid uncertainty about whether a military coup is taking place. Lavrov made the statement early today at a news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry. However, Lavrov, who had been in lengthy talks with Kerry, said he had little information about what was taking place in Turkey.

Russia’s tourism authority issued a similar warning. Turkey had long been a popular vacation destination for Russians, but the numbers dropped sharply last year when Russia banned package tours to Turkey amid tensions over Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane and it was unclear how many Russians currently are in the country.