ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on the attempted military coup in Turkey (all times local):
8 p.m.
As Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addressed crowds who gathered outside parliament, some of those assembled began to shout, “We want the death penalty! We want the death penalty!” They were referring to plotters of the attempted coup.
Yildirim responded: “We got your message. The necessary will be done.”
Turkey scrapped the death penalty more than a decade ago.
The prime minister also asked the crowds to walk to Ankara’s main square nearby and remain in the streets to keep a second night of “watch for democracy.”
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7:55 p.m.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says the commander of the country’s second army has been arrested as part of an investigation into the attempted coup.
The second army is based in eastern Turkey to counter threats from Syria, Iran and Iraq.
Anadolu Agency says Gen. Adem Huduti was detained for questioning in the eastern city of Malatya, where the army is based. It says a garrison commander and two brigadier generals were detained as well.
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7:50 p.m.
Defense Minister Fikri Isik says state authorities are in full control of all areas in Turkey following the coup attempt.
Isik said Saturday that Turkey can confidently say it has thwarted the coup attempt but warns that authorities have to remain vigilant.
Isik said that “at any time there could be new tests, new attempts. We have prevented the coup, but it is too soon to say that the danger is over.”
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7:30 p.m.
Turkey’s four main political parties have released a joint declaration during an extraordinary parliamentary meeting held in the wake of the country’s failed coup attempt.
The four parties on Saturday strongly condemned the attempted coup and warned that any attempt against the people or the parliament will be met “with the iron will of the Turkish Grand National Assembly resisting them, just as they did today.”
The declaration praised the Turkish nation for its unwavering belief in democracy and lauded citizens for taking to the streets and resisting the coup.
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7:15 p.m.
The Pentagon says U.S. warplanes have stopped flying missions against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq from a base in southern Turkey after the government closed its airspace to military aircraft.
The Pentagon’s press secretary, Peter Cook, said Saturday that U.S. officials are working with Turkish officials to get permission to resume air operations as soon as possible following the attempted coup.
The U.S. has been flying Air Force A-10 attack planes from Incirlik base as part of its air campaign against the Islamic State.
Cook says U.S. Central Command is adjusting flight operations in the anti-IS campaign to minimize the effect of the closure of Turkish airspace. Cook also says Incirlik lost commercial electrical power.
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7:05 p.m.
Turkish Prime Minister Benali Yildirim says 161 people have been killed as the country fought to overcome a military coup attempt.
Another Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with protocol, said that number included civilians and pro-government forces like police but excluded those behind the coup attempt.
Earlier, Gen. Unit Dundar said 104 “coup plotters” had been killed.
There has been no official update of the death toll for hours.
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6:30 p.m.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says July 15 will be remembered as “a festival for democracy,” the day when those who carried out a coup against the people were hit by a coup themselves.
Speaking to parliament in its first session since the revolt Friday, Yildirim says “These are not soldiers, they are ravenous terrorist butchers in uniforms.” The prime minister warned Saturday that anyone who tried to harm the will of the people will be “reminded of those coup plotters, whose lives have been snuffed out.”
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, used his speech to call for greater democracy in Turkey, and said the coup attempt had also shown the importance of freedom of speech.
Kilicdargolu says “this event has united us on a common ground, and that common ground is our dedication to the republic and democracy. But democracy isn’t just the law of the rulers, but the rule of law.”
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5:10 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she condemns the coup attempt in Turkey, saying democratic institutions must be respected.
Merkel told reporters at the chancellery in Berlin on Saturday that it was “tragic that so many people paid for this coup attempt with their lives” and urged an end to the bloodshed.
She said “Germany stands on the side of all of those in Turkey who defend democracy and the rule of law.”
3:35 p.m.
NTV television has shown footage of a Turkish colonel and other soldiers being taken into custody at military headquarters.
The video shows them being hand-searched by special forces police, their hands behind their heads. Some are later seen kneeling on the ground, their hands still held behind their heads.
According to Hurriyet newspaper’s online edition, some of the privates who were detained told interrogators they were not aware that they were part of a coup attempt. They had been told by commanders they were taking part in military maneuvers. Some said they understood that it was a coup attempt when they saw civilians climb on tanks.
3:15 p.m.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency says all soldiers involved in the attempted coup at the military headquarters in the capital, Ankara, have been taken into custody.
The report says anti-terrorism police will now conduct a “detailed search” at the headquarters.
3:10 p.m.
Turkey’s state-run news agency says a top body overseeing judges and prosecutors has dismissed 2,745 judges across the country.
Anadolu Agency says the emergency meeting of the Judges and Prosecutors High Council was held Saturday, hours after Turkish forces quashed an attempted coup.
The report said the meeting was called to discuss disciplinary measures against members suspected of links to the movement led by the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government says the attempted coup was carried out by a clique within the military loyal to Gulen’s movement.
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2:55 p.m.
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.
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2:45 p.m.
Italy’s foreign minister says his Turkish counterpart has defined the coup attempt in Turkey as “terroristic.”
The Italian foreign ministry says in a statement Saturday that Minister Paolo Gentiloni spoke by phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The statement said the Turkish minister, who spoke from the capital, Ankara, confirmed the “failure of the attempt that he termed terroristic.”
The statement also said the Italian foreign minister expressed “satisfaction that popular mobilization and defense of the institutions prevailed” in Turkey.
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2:30 p.m.
Turkey’s Dogan news agency is reporting that two majors, a captain and five privates have requested asylum in Greece after landing in a military helicopter.
Greece’s defense ministry has said a Blackhawk helicopter carrying seven Turkish military personnel and one civilian landed in the city of Alexandroupolis earlier Saturday.
The passengers asked for asylum and were arrested for illegal entry into Greece.
The state-run Anadolu Agency has quoted Turkey’s foreign minister as demanding “the immediate return of the eight treacherous officers.”
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1:55 p.m.
NATO’s chief says all alliance personnel and military units in Turkey are “safe and secure” following the attempted coup.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, said Saturday he had spoken to NATO’s supreme commander, U.S. Army Gen. Curtis M. Scapparrotti.
“He confirms that all NATO personnel and units in Turkey are safe and secure,” Stoltenberg said in a post on Twitter.
The alliance chief also tweeted that he welcomed “the strong support shown by the people and all political parties to democracy and to the democratically elected gov of Turkey.”
Reuters- Saudi Arabia welcomes end of coup attempt in Turkey: state media
Saudi Arabia welcomed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s success in prevailing against a coup attempt, state news agency SPA quoted a foreign ministry official as saying on Saturday.
“The source expressed the kingdom’s welcome that things are returned to normal led by his Excellency President Tayyip Erdogan and his elected government and in line with the constitutional legitimacy and the will of the Turkish people,” SPA said.
It was the first official comment by the world’s top oil exporter on the coup attempt which began on Friday night.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)- TurkishPrime Minister Benali Yildirim says 161 people were killed in the country’s overnight military coup attempt. He says another more than 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.
ABC News:
NEW: Turkish govt. says attempted coup “foiled”
-Death toll: 161
-Wounded: 1,440
-Detained military members: 2,839
Guardian: Here’s a breakdown of the death toll in the Turkish coup, as provided by General Umit Dundar, the newly appointed acting chief of the general staff. More than 190 people dead:
• 41 police officers,
• Two soldiers
• 47 civilians
• 104 people described as “coup plotters.”
General Umit Dundar, who has been appointed acting chief of military staff, has said 104 coup plotters have been killed, according to Reuters.
Dundar said the coup plotter death toll is on top of the 90 people declared as dead, including 47 civilians.
A further 1154 people have been wounded.
Reuters-ISTANBUL/ANKARA: An attempted Turkish military coup appeared to crumble on Saturday after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan’s call to take to the streets to support him and dozens of rebel soldiers abandoned their tanks in the main city of Istanbul.
At least 60 people were killed in violence that erupted on Friday after a faction of the armed forces attempted to seize power, officials said.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and was shown on TV among a crowd of supporters outside Ataturk Airport.
The uprising was an “act of treason”, and those responsible would pay a heavy price, he told reporters at a hastily arranged news conference. Arrests of officers were under way and it would go higher up the ranks, culminating in the cleansing of the military, he said.
Addressing a crowd of thousands of flag-waving supporters at the airport later, Erdogan said the government remained at the helm.
Around 50 soldiers involved in the coup surrendered on one of the bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul after dawn on Saturday, abandoning their tanks with their hands raised in the air. Reuters witnesses saw government supporters attack the pro-coup soldiers who had surrendered.
Earlier, around 30 pro-coup soldiers had surrendered their weapons after being surrounded by armed police in Istanbul’s central Taksim square.
They were taken away in police vans as a fighter jet repeatedly screeched overhead at low altitude, causing a boom that shook surrounding buildings and shattered windows.
The coup began with warplanes and helicopters roaring over Ankara and troops moving in to seal off the bridges over the Bosphorus Strait that links Europe and Asia in Istanbul.
Authorities had shut the strait to tanker traffic, shipping agent GAC said.
By the early hours of Saturday, lawmakers were still hiding in shelters inside the parliament building in Ankara, which was being fired on by tanks. Smoke rose up from nearby, Reuters witnesses said. An opposition MP told Reuters parliament was hit three times and that people had been wounded.
A senior Turkish official said later on Saturday attacks on the parliament had “largely stopped”.
A Turkish military commander also said fighter jets had shot down a helicopter used by the coup plotters over Ankara. State-run Anadolu news agency said 17 police were killed at special forces headquarters there.
Momentum turned against the coup plotters as the night wore on. Crowds defied orders to stay indoors, gathering at major squares in Istanbul and Ankara, waving flags and chanting.
“We have a prime minister, we have a chief of command, we’re not going to leave this country to degenerates,” shouted one man, as groups of government supporters climbed onto a tank near Ataturk airport.
Erdogan and other officials blamed the attempted coup on followers of Fethullah Gulen, an influential cleric in self-imposed exile in the United States who once supported Erdogan but became a nemesis.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he phoned the Turkish foreign minister and emphasized “absolute support for Turkey’s democratically elected, civilian government and democratic institutions”.
Turkey, a NATO member with the second biggest military in the Western alliance, is one of the most important allies of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, which seized swaths of neighboring Iraq and Syria.
European Council President Donald Tusk 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,” Tusk said at regional summit in Mongolia.
Airports were shut and access to internet social media sites was cut off in the first hours of the coup attempt. Flag carrier Turkish Airways resumed flights on Saturday, Erdogan said.
An EU source has told Reuter’s news agency that this coup looks “substantial” and “not just a few colonels.”
Sources within the Turkish President’s office say that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “safe.”
A Turkish president source say “We will not tolerate attempts to undermine our democracy and maintains the President’s control.
Turkey’s State broadcaster TRT and Euronews shut done in Turkey.
Martial law has been stablished in Istanbul.
Soldiers are inside the building of both the Turkish state broadcaster TRT, and the Istanbul branch of the ruling AK Party.
PM Yildirim says that those found responsible for “attempted coup” will “pay the highest price.”
Turkish military announces a “Peace Council” that will guarantee the freedom and safety of citizens regardless of race and religion.
CNN cited Turkish Prime Minister saying the military has taken an illegal action.
CNN added that some Turkish military units have attempted an uprising that will be not allowed to succeed, the country’s prime minister said late Friday in a phone interview with Turkish broadcaster A Haber.
The uprising is “an attempt against democracy and the will of the people,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told state news agency Anadolu. “Those who attempted this will pay the heaviest price.”
One tweet showed a military jet flying extremely low over the capital Ankara.
A report from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said military-appearing jets had been flying low over the city and Istanbul for about an hour.
Two bridges in Istanbul are closed in one direction by the military. Cars are flowing from the European side of the city to the Asian, but soldiers and military vehicles are blocking the path to the European side.