At least 60 people have been killed and more than 1500 members of Turkey’s armed forces arrested after an attempted military coup.

Live TV images showed dozens of rebel soldiers abandoning their tanks on Istanbul’s Bosporus bridge, as the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted his government remained firmly in charge and the take over had failed. He has now flown to Istanbul.

Erdogan had earlier urged supporters to take to the streets to oppose the plotters via his smart phone during an interview with a Turkish broadcaster.

29 colonels and five generals have reportedly been removed from their posts, while the head of Turkey’s armed forces, General Hulusi Akar, who was apparently taken hostage during the attempted coup, has been freed.

In the capital Ankara, officials say attacks on the Turkish parliament and presidential place have largely stopped despite reports that a faction of the military continue to fight and have control of some helicopters.