The Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) says a coup attempt in the country has been "repelled" and the situation has been restored to “normal”.

In comments carried by Turkish broadcaster NTV on Saturday morning, the MIT spokesman said the intelligence agency’s headquarters was targeted by hijacked military helicopters, but the coup attempt was "foiled”.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also announced in the early hours of Saturday morning that the situation is largely under control and that a no-fly zone was imposed over the capital Ankara.

Yildirim added that Chief of Military Staff Hulusi Akar and other high-ranking commanders are now in charge of the situation. The country’s state news agency had earlier reported that Akar was being “held hostage” at the military headquarters.

According to Reuters, Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT is also now back on air.

Citing witnesses, Reuters also reported that some 30 soldiers in the coup attempt surrendered their weapons to police in Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

An NTV report said a Turkish Air Force F-16 jet shot down a Sikorsky helicopter operated by the army group attempting the coup.

Hours earlier, the Turkish military said it had fully seized control of the country and that the rule of law must remain a priority.

"The power in the country has been seized in its entirety," said a military statement read on NTV television, without giving further details.

The statement went on to say that the military aims to "reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms," and "to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for the law and order to be reinstated."

"All international agreements and commitments will remain. We pledge that good relations with all world countries will continue," the military statement added.

It further vowed to try all those who “have betrayed the country” in “fair courts.”

According to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, a bomb hit the parliament building in Ankara following the death of 17 police officers in an aerial attack on the Ankara Special Forces headquarters.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly safe, although there has been no immediate report about his whereabouts.

Speaking on cellphone to CNN Turk, the Turkish president said this is an act encouraged by "parallel structure".

He also called on the Turkish people to flood the streets and defy a curfew that was imposed nationwide by the coup leaders, adding that the attempted coup will be resolved within a short time.

Reports said the Turkish president was returning to the capital Ankara, contradicting earlier reports that he was leaving the country.

Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erdogan as telling CNN Turk that the US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen was to blame for the attempted coup.

“We will not leave the ground to them,” Erdogan further said, vowing to end the “occupation” by the “minority group”.

However, a group affiliated with the opposition Gulen Movement condemned the coup attempt against the Turkish government.

"We condemn any military intervention in the domestic politics of Turkey,” read part of a statement by the Alliance for Shared Values as quoted by AFP.