LIVE BLOG: Coup attempt in Turkey

Turkish media is broadcasting images of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with anti-coup protesters at Ataturk Airport near Istanbul.

State-run media is reporting that a former legal advisor to the General Staff, which presides over the military, was behind the coup attempt.

Anadulo news agency named Col. Muharrem Kose, who was recently sacked, as the coup's "mastermind".

At least three other co-conspirators are believed to be complicit in the plot, the agency added.

Two civilians were shot and killed early on Saturday morning by soldiers on Istanbul's Bosphorus bridge, the independent Dogan news agency reported.

The report provided no further details.

“The coup has failed," a senior government source told MEE early on Saturday on the condition of anonymity. 

"We are in control of Istanbul and have liberated all the places occupied by the coup plotter and we are in control of the vast majority of Ankara apart from small isolated areas. It will be over [later this] morning.”

Additionally, a Turkish official told MEE's Suraj Sharma in Istanbul that a Turkish intelligence building was targeted by the coup plotters using hijacked helicopters.

There were no casualities, he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

Gunfire has been heard in Istanbul's Harbiye neighbourhood, and ambulances on the way are on the way to the scene, CNN Turk has reported.

The channel also reported that a bomb had been thrown at parliament, without providing information on injuries.

Earlier, soldiers opened fire on civilians in the cities of Istanbul and Sakara after they ignored the army's call for a curfew, according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Meanwhile, mosques were using their loudspeakers to call on Turks to take to the streets to protest against the coup, and many have done so.

Additionally, a number of soldiers in Istanbul and elsewhere have been arrested by security forces (under command of the government), contributing reporter Suraj Sharma told MEE from Istanbul.

US President Barack Obama on Friday urged all parties in Turkey to back the "democratically elected" government, after troops in the country launched a coup.

Detailing a call between Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, the White House said both agreed "all parties in Turkey should support the democratically elected government of Turkey, show restraint and avoid any violence or bloodshed".

Middle East Eye's Suraj Sharma is in Istanbul with the latest updates from Turkish officials responding via media to the ongoing coup attempt:

Turkey's navy chief has announced: "We reject the coup." This seems to give credibility to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's claim that the coup is being carried out by a group within the military, rather than the military itself.

Former president Abdullah Gul says: "This is not a Latin American or African country. We can't have coups like this."

Centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu says: "Turkey has suffered a lot due to coups. I want to stand up for democracy and freedom. We will stand up for democracy to the end. We want a parliamentary democracy. We don't want bloodshed."

Pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) says in a statement: "There is no other way other than standing up for democracy."

CNN Turk reports that 17 police officers have been killed in an attack on police offices in Ankara's Golbasi neighbourhood.

The Turkish-language channel also cited reports saying that F-16 jets have shot down a helicopter that was being used by the instigators of the coup in the capital city.

Further details were not immediately available.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged "restraint" in Turkey amid an attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"In constant contact with EU Delegation in Ankara & Brussels from Mongolia. Call for restraint and respect for democratic institutions #Turkey," she tweeted from a regional summit in Ulan Bator.

Brussels will be watching with deep concern the events in Turkey, a key partner on its southeastern flank which has been trying to join the EU for many years without success.

The EU's controversial deal with Turkey in March to tackle the migrant crisis could be at risk, with implications for French and German elections next year.

Under the deal, Ankara agreed to take back migrants and refugees from the Greek islands and to stop people crossing the Aegean Sea. In return it is to get aid and visa-free travel for 80 million Turks to the EU.

The bloc overcame its aversion to Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule, which has received sharp criticism from the 28-nation European Union.

Turkey will now likely dominate an EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday which will also be attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Turkish military early on Saturday deployed tanks outside the parliament in the capital Ankara, the private Dogan news agency reported.

Strong blasts were heard in Ankara and jets were continuously flying over the city. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said coup plotters will "not succeed".

Social media users in Turkey posted video and pictures of protests taking place in the streets early on Saturday, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for demonstrations against the coup attempt in an interview aired on CNN Turk.

Locals and media reported an explosion near the police headquarters in the Turkish capital of Ankara early on Saturday.

It was not immediately known what caused the explosion but jets that had been present in the skies throughout the late evening were still flying over Ankara.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared over Skype on CNN's Turkish-language channel, urging people to take to the streets in protest and saying the attempted coup would not be successful.

He told CNN the attempt was coming from a group within the military, not the military itself.

"We will overcome this," Erdogan added, saying he is returning to Ankara and that the coup attempt would be over in a short period of time.

He was seemingly unable to address citizens via state-owned news channels, with reports those stations were under the control of the military or had been taken off the air.