Turkey military coup attemp

Forces loyal to Turkey's government fought on Saturday to crush the last remnants of a military coup attempt which collapsed after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan's call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.

More than 160 people were killed, including many civilians, after a faction of the armed forces tried to seize power usings tanks and attack helicopters. Some strafed the headquaters of Turkish intelligence and parliament in the capital, Ankara, and others seized a major bridge in Istambul.

Erdogan accused the coup plotters of trying to kill him and launched a purge of the armed forces, which last used force to stage a successful coup more than 30 years ago.

"They will pay a heavy price for this," said Erdogan, who also saw off mass public protests against his rule three years ago. "This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army."

Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said at a press conference on Saturday, the situation was under control, with all commanders back to work.

"Our nation in this incident has shown a great resilience," Yildirim said

"Those who have done this uprising should understand this reality that no one can play games with the stability of this country and the love of freedom and democracy."

An additional, 1,140 people were wounded, said Yildirim.

A total of 2,839 military officers were detained, a source in the President's office said.

As the morning passed, the crowds emptied from Istambul Taksim Square, where crowds gather the night before.

Of the 161 people killed, mostly were police officers killed in a shootout with helicopter near the parliament complex in Ankara, Turkish NTV reported. It said a building was damaged.

Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istambul before dawn on Saturday and shown on television outside Ataturk Airport.

Addressing a crowd of thousands of flag-waving supporters of modern Turkey's secular principles, said the plotters had tried to attack him in the resort town of Marmaris.

"They bombed places I had departed right after I was gone," he said. "They probably thought we were still there."

"So far as we believe, so far as we're alive, we'll be prepared to die in the cause to tackle these people, we're not going to compromise," said Erdogan.

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Reuters & CNN