In Ankara, Turkey, Reports of Gunfire and Tanks in Streets Amid "Military Intervention"

Impact

Reuters is reporting that Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stated Friday "military action" is being taken in Ankara, the Turkish capital. 

"Some people illegally undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command," Yildirim said on local private television outlet NTV, the New York Times reports. 

"The government elected by the people remains in charge," Yildirim reportedly added in defiance. "This government will only go when the people say so."

However, those involved in what largely resembles an ongoing attempted coup are advancing their cause and have taken the military's top general hostage, Agence France-Presse tweeted.

At around 2:50 a.m. local time, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the Turkish parliament house in Ankara had been hit by a bomb, according to the Associated Press.

BuzzFeed News posted a statement reportedly issued by the Turkish military, in which it announced it has "completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms."

The military announced on state television it is preparing a new constitution "as soon as possible," the Foreign Desk's editor in chief and Middle East specialist Lisa Daftari tweeted.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly responded to the military's broadcast via FaceTime.

"The president says this is an act encouraged by 'parallel structure' in interview with CNN,'' the Telegraph reports. "He states it is an uprising attempt by a minority within the military."

Erdogan urged Turks across the country to resist. "There is no power higher than the power of the people," he said, according to the New York Times. "Let them do what they will at public squares and airports."

President Barack Obama has been "apprised" of the situation unfolding and is being kept updated, according to National Security Council spokesman Ned Price, the Huffington Post reported.

Associated Press and AFP both reported explosions in Ankara. 

Bridges in Turkey's capital are reportedly being shut down by the military, CNN Turkey reported.

Meanwhile, alleged footage of tanks driving through the streets of Istanbul has been circulating on Twitter.

All flights from Istanbul have been cancelled, a Reuters witness says.

According to Turkey specialist and journalist Mahir Zeynalov, who has been posting about local events on Twitter, the military and the government are issuing antithetical accounts of events, both sides respectively projecting victory. 

Erdogan has become a polarizing figure in recent years with an increasingly autocratic tenure, Islamizing the formally rigidly secular country in the process. Tensions with the historically secular military have percolated during Erdogan's presidency. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

July 15, 2016, 8:05 p.m. Eastern: This story has been updated.