President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a phone interview on broadcaster CNNTürk that a "minority group" in the military has attempted a coup, Hurriyet reported.
Erdoğan said the parallel state, referring to the followers of the U.S.-based scholar Fethullah Gülen, has promoted the attempt.
"We will not leave the ground to them," he said, vowing to end the "occupation" by the group, called on nation to unite at squares and airports. Erdoğen said he would also be on the streets.
The move is not as part of the chain of command., he said.
"I am the chief commander," he said.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said earlier that Turkey is facing an uprising attempt from inside the army, with the state-run Anadolu Agency reporting that Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar is being kept as a hostage with a group. Erdoğan neither confirmed nor denied the information, telling that there was an "obscure atmosphere" of information.