PHOTO: Ataturk airport. (photo courtesy of Thinkstock)
The Turkish military has announced a takeover of the government this evening, grounding flights in Istanbul's Ataturk and Ankara airports and blocking key bridges in the heart of Istanbul. Martial law and a curfew are now in place throughout Turkey.
At press time, flights were grounded in Istanbul and, in the capital of Ankara, the military was blocking roads to the airport.
The U.S. State Department has issued a warning, advising U.S. citizens in the country to shelter in place and stay indoors as there have been reports of gunfire and a loud explosion was heard in Ankara, according to the Associated Press.
A Turkish military statement regarding the takeover was read on national television, according to BBC news.
In the statement, the military said it planned "to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for the law and order to be reinstated."
Multiple news agencies are reporting that in a FaceTime interview with CNN Turk, President Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the military action saying: "I'm making a call out to my people. I'm inviting them out to all our public squares. I'm inviting them out to our airports. Let us gather in our squares, at our airports as the people and let that minority group come upon us with their tanks and artillery and do whatever they wish to do."
The country's prime minister has said that the coup is "illegal" and that the government is still in control of the country.
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