Members of Turkey's armed forces said they had taken control of the country, but Turkish officials said the coup attempt had been repelled early Saturday morning after a night of violence that left at least 17 dead, according to state-run media. The AP reports explosions, gunfire, and an air battle between loyalist forces and coup supporters erupted in the capital of Ankara and Turks heeded the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to take to the streets to show support for his embattled government. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported a bomb hit the Turkish parliament in Ankara. CNN-Turk television reported some police officers and parliament workers were hurt in the bomb attack. Erdogan dismissed the military action as "an attempt at an uprising by a minority within our armed forces."
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." But the military did not appear unified, with top commanders taking to television to condemn the action and order troops back to their barracks. Fighter jets under the control of loyalist forces were flying over the capital to strike at helicopters flown by coup supporters, Anadolu said. Private NTV television reported that one helicopter was shot down. By Saturday morning, a spokesperson for Turkish National Intelligence said the coup had been quashed, adding that small groups were still active. During the fighting, 17 police officers were killed in a helicopter attack on police special forces headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara, Anadolu said (More Turkey stories.)
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