Shots have been fired in the capital Ankara, where helicopters and military jets are flying overhead.

Tanks are also said to have opened fire on the presidential building.

Reports also suggest there has been a major explosion in the city while witnesses said missiles had been fired at the TRT media offices.

Both of Istanbul’s bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, have been closed to traffic.

Tanks have also surrounded the entrance to Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, where gunfire has been heard.

Flights in and out of the country have been cancelled.

The action comes just two days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a bill giving wide-ranging immunity to the Turkish military.

But in an astonishing interview by Skype, a desperate Erdogan urged the public to take to the streets in response.

He said: “Let us come together. They can come with tanks but they are no more powerful than the people.

“We can show the tanks how powerful we are.”

They claim secular rule had been eroded by the current government.

Police have massed on Taksim Square which soldiers are blocking the area.

There are also reports of long lines at cash machines and panicked people running home from bars.

Turkey’s prime minister Binali Yildirim said a faction within the army had attempted to seize power but that they would be pushed back and that it was wrong to call it a coup.

He said: “Some people illegally undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hopes there will be “peace, stability and continuity in Turkey”.