LIVE BLOG: Coup attempt in Turkey

Turkish State broadcaster TRT Haber have published video footage of soldiers who blockaded the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul with their tanks, being arrested and taken into custody by Turkish Police. 

Turkish journalist has taken footage of the moment a F-16 struck the presidential palace in Ankara:

Key developments that have unfolded this morning following yesterdays attempted coup: 

• Commanders and soldiers involved in the coup have been arrested by Turkish Security Forces
• Many soldiers involved in the coup have surrendered 
• US President Barack Obama was one of the first Western leaders to condemn the coup attempt by the Turkish Army
• Turkish parties from across the political spectrum have condemned the military coup
• Former Air Force Chief Akin Ozturk will be tried for treason 
• Officials say more than 100 military and 47 civilians killed in the attempted coup 

Speaking to MEE, Zeynep Yildiz, a housewife in Istanbul's Fatih area said:

"I never experienced previous coups in Turkey but grew up listening about it from my family. And about how bad it was. As soon as I heard, I took to the streets. We were getting SMS messages to take to the streets against the coup. If we hadn't done so maybe things would be different today."

General Umit Dundar, Turkey's army chief and acting chief of staff is currently giving a press conference.

He said that many of the army's commanders had been taken hostage and removed to unspecified locations by the coup instigators.

At least 104 soldiers participating in the coup had been killed, he said.

Most of the plotters were from the Gendarmerie, the branch of the military responsible for maintaining public order, but the Turkish Armed Forces had rejected the coup attempt, Dundar said.

"The armed forces are behind the President and our democracy. Unfortunately our parliement was also attacked... We are determined to clear our armed forces of the parallel structure. Just like a democratic state of law, our armed forces have to be under the command of the nation."

Ebru Rende, a businesswoman, told MEE how she had been on the streets all night in Istanbul's Basaksehir area near the main airport.

"I was shocked when I heard the news [that a coup was under way]. I immediately took to the streets. Thousands of us are here. For once we are united as a country. Leftist, rightist, covered head, skirt-wearing, we are all here. I am overwhelmed with emotion. I will do anything for my country."

The Hurriyet newspaper reports that a former air force, Akin Ozturk, wil be tried for treason his alleged role in the coup.

Here's MEE's Suraj Sharma's first write of the morning on the night's events in Turkey:

"The debris of serious fighting littered key locations in Turkey’s major cities on Saturday morning as the country woke up to scenes it hasn’t witnessed for more than nearly four decades.

"The latest figures show 1,563 people have been arrested so far for involvement in the coup attempt, according to parliamentary speaker Ismail Kahraman speaking live from parliament in Ankara, the capital.

"Latest figures from official sources point at least 90 dead and more than 1,000 injured following clashes between soldiers supporting the coup and pro-goverment protesters.

Read the full story here: Scores killed in Turkey as military coup falters

The Turkish parliament is holding an emergency session. Meanwhile, a government official tells the AFP news agency that a total of 1,563 military officers have been detained across the country.

Turkish Airlines has issued a statement saying that its operations at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport have returned to normal and flights are resuming.

Turkish television pictures on Saturday morning have shown dozens of soldier surrendering on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul that they had held throughout the night.

The soldiers, dressed in full camouflage, walked out from behind their tank holding their hands above their heads, NTV television showed. The state-run Anadolu news agency said 50 soldiers were arrested.

Pictures showed supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan jubilantly jumping onto one of the tanks left behind by the departing soldiers, cheering, making victory signs and waving the Turkish flag.

Others sought to run across the bridge that had been closed all night, kicking the helmets and protective gear left behind by the rebel soldiers as they passed.

CNN-Turk reports that security forces have rescued the country's top army general in an operation in Ankara after a coup attempt, taking him to a safe location.

General Hulusi Akar was rescued after an operation was launched in Akinci air base, northwest of the capital, it said. Earlier reports said he had been taken hostage in the earlier stages of the coup bid.

Hundreds of members of the Turkish armed forces have been arrested across the country, with the government blaming the coup attempt on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the state-run Anadolu 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 5 generals had been removed from their posts.

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.

A group affiliated with US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind a coup attempt, condemned the uprising early on Saturday.

"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.

Hizmet is the name by which Gulen's movement is commonly known.

"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.

Erdogan earlier hit out at his arch-rival, saying that the coup was the work of a "parallel state" and "Pensylvania" - a reference to the state where Gulen is based.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday blasted a coup attempt as "treason," putting the blame on supporters of his arch-foe, US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, in defiant remarks after flying back to Istanbul.

"What is being perpetrated is a treason and a rebellion. They will pay a heavy price for this act of treason," Erdogan said at Istanbul's airport.

The president said his hotel in the Aegean coast resort of Marmaris was bombed after he left. But he remained defiant, vowing: "We will not leave our country to occupiers."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim meanwhile said over 120 people had been arrested over the coup attempt.