Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) put its coup plan, prepared over many years by infiltrating state institutions in Turkey, into action on the night of July 15, 2016. The attempt, suppressed by the resistance of the people and patriotic security forces, resulted in 253 martyrs and once again exposed the role of the group's US-based leader.
The group had previously tried to force the government to back down through plots such as the December 17/25 investigations and the MIT trucks incident, but failed. The AK Party's return to power in the November 1, 2015 elections and the start of purging group-affiliated soldiers through Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decisions prompted FETÖ into action.
The group's ringleader Fetullah Gülen openly called on soldiers to stage a coup in a speech on March 19, 2016. Following his instructions, group members traveled to the US starting from December 2015 to meet with Gülen and began coup preparations. As part of the preparations, a meeting chaired by Adil Öksüz was held in Ankara on July 6-9.
The meeting was attended by civilian imams Hakan Çiçek, Nurettin Oruç, Harun Biniş and Kemal Batmaz, who were captured at Akıncı Base used as the coup's epicenter, as well as former brigadier generals Mehmet Partigöç and Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, rear admiral Ömer Faruk Harmancık, members of the so-called Peace at Home Council, and many senior military officers.
Exposed coup started early
MIT Undersecretary Hakan Fidan passed the intelligence to then-Deputy Chief of General Staff General Yaşar Güler. Chief of General Staff General Hulusi Akar ordered all airborne elements to return to base and the airspace to be closed.
After the information leaked, the coup plotters moved the attempt forward to 20:30 on July 15. Thirty-three maroon beret soldiers gathered at Akıncı Base and headed toward the General Staff headquarters. At 21:00, Major General Mehmet Dişli, who informed General Akar of the coup, ordered Akar to be detained after failing to persuade him.
The coup soldiers took vehicles, including missile launchers, from the 58th Artillery Brigade in Polatlı and attempted to seize critical points in Ankara. Fake martial law orders were issued through the General Staff Message and Document Distribution System (MEDAS). The protection non-commissioned officer of Land Forces Commander General Salih Zeki Çolak, Bülent Aydın, was martyred at the headquarters, becoming the first martyr of the night.
People's resistance and the leader's call
F-16s taking off from Akıncı Base began low flights over Ankara. Bridges over the Bosphorus in Istanbul were closed by soldiers. Then-Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım stated in a statement to NTV that the government was in charge.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a live connection to CNN Türk at 00:24, called on the nation to take to the streets. This call changed the course of the resistance. Nine people were martyred when fire was opened from a helicopter on citizens protesting in front of the Gendarmerie General Command.
Coup pilots Mehmet Yurdakul and İlhami Aygül bombed the Ankara Police Headquarters with a warplane at 00:56. Coup brigadier general Semih Terzi, arriving from Diyarbakır, landed at Etimesgut Airport. On the orders of Special Forces Commander Lieutenant General Zekai Aksakallı, his aide-de-camp Ömer Halisdemir neutralized Terzi but was himself martyred.
Attack on the Turkish Parliament and victory of the resistance
To break the resistance, the coup plotters targeted the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). A bomb dropped from an F-16 flown by former pilots Hasan Hüsnü Balıkçı and Uğur Uzunoğlu damaged the parliament building and injured 32 people. Coup pilot Hüseyin Türk also bombed the TÜRKSAT facilities.
President Erdoğan's landing at Istanbul Atatürk Airport and being welcomed by the people gave a great morale boost to the resistance. At 08:26, Chief of General Staff Akar, who had been held at Akıncı Base, was brought to Çankaya Mansion. The main runway of Akıncı Base was struck to prevent aircraft movement.
Prime Minister Yıldırım announced at a press conference at 12:57 that the coup attempt had been suppressed. The attempt was brought under control in about 21 hours. Records show that 9,000 military personnel, 35 aircraft, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles including 74 tanks, and nearly 4,000 light weapons were used in the operation.
The end of the terror group leader in the US
The coup attempt's planner Fetullah Gülen continued to run the organization from his farm in the US state of Pennsylvania, where he fled in 1999. Despite Turkey's seven extradition requests, US authorities did not take steps to extradite Gülen.
Gülen died on October 20, 2024, at St. Luke's Hospital in Pennsylvania. The death of the terrorist leader was officially confirmed by a document conveyed to Turkish authorities by the US State Department.
