July 15 Coup Attempt 4.8 Air Force Commander was detained at Akıncı base
4.8 Chief of Air Staff detained at the Akıncı Air Base
CARD NO 46
DETAIL Coup plotters headed toward the Akıncı Air Base.
4.8 Chief of Air Staff detained at the Akıncı Air Base

Chief of Air Staff General Abidin Ünal, who had been arrested by coup plotters during a wedding ceremony at the Istanbul Moda Sea Club, was first brought to the Sabiha Gökçen Airport and then to the Akıncı Air Base by a CN235 CASA airplane. He was detained with his hands tied and eyes closed.

FOTO GALERİ
6 PHOTOGRAPH
1	The security cameras at the Moda Sea Club recorded the moment coup soldiers entered.
2	Coup soldiers were fully equipped and entered the wedding firing into the air and started handcuffing the generals.
5	Four machine guns, approximately 6,000 bullets and anti-missile systems were loaded onto two helicopters.
4	A raid was organized with two helicopters and six military vehicles and six teams of seven soldiers from Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Command.
3	After soldiers searched people at the wedding, they took Air Forces Commander Abidin Ünal and other commanders captive.
6	The 135th MAK Fleet commander, Lt. Col. Alparslan Şahin had arranged the raid.

Video
They took 17 generals hostage
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They took 17 generals hostage

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:01:32
On the night of the coup attempt, General Mehmet Şanver’s daughter had her wedding at the Moda Maritime Club, and high-ranked generals were in attendance as well. Knowing that, the putschists assaulted the garden of the club with the support of helicopters and took 17 generals hostage, after a quick assault. The incident was thoroughly recorded by the club’s CCTVs.
MAPS
General Abidin Ünal's Route
General Abidin Ünal's Route

Air Force Commander Gen. Abidin Ünal was taken hostage at the Moda Sea Club where he was attending the wedding of Lieutenant General Mehmet Şanver's daughter.

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4.9 Assassination team took action
CARD NO 47
MUST SEE The great assassination plan failed.
4.9 Assassination team took action

Putschist soldiers who had prepared for the assassination of President Erdoğan at the Çiğli Main Jet Base took action. As the two helicopter pilots in Çiğli did not want to take on the task, a group of putschist soldiers headed by Brigadier General Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş took off to Çiğli with a one-hour delay and headed toward Marmaris.

After the information that President Erdoğan, who took off from Dalaman, would go to Istanbul was conveyed to authorities in Istanbul, Istanbul Police Chief Mustafa Çalışkan ordered Special Operations teams to conduct an operation on the Atatürk Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower. The operation was completed at 02.28 a.m. and putschist soldiers were detained.

The assassination team that took off from the Çiğli Main Jet Base arrived at the hotel where President Erdoğan had been staying around 03.00 a.m. As helicopters carrying the assassination team could not land because of the dust, the team landed by means of a rappel and blockaded the hotel. During the clash, Mehmet Çetin, a presidential guard, and Nedip Cengiz Eker, a police officer at the Marmaris Police Department, were martyred, while nine other police officers were injured. After the clash between the assassination team and the police, the team heard that President Erdoğan was not there and escaped the hotel.

Video
Assassination attempt of President Erdoğan
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Assassination attempt of President Erdoğan

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
01:00
Putschists established team and traveled to Marmaris in three helicopters to assassinate President Erdoğan. The putschists landed in different locations and raided the hotel the president was staying in. Erdoğan’s bodyguard and one police officer were killed by gunfire in the attack.
EXPLANATION
NOTE:Turkish Airlines cancelled 925 flights
  • Because of the coup attempt by the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETÖ), Turkish Airlines (THY) cancelled a total of 925 domestic and international flights.

Video
Operation at the Atatürk Airport
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Operation at the Atatürk Airport

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:02:06
Istanbul Police Commissioner Mustafa Çalışkan ordered Special Operations squads conduct an operation upon learning that President Erdoğan was going to land in Istanbul. Wıth that order, an operation was conducted on the Air Traffic Control Tower of the Atatürk Airport. Putschist soldiers were taken under custody at the end of the operation.
Video
Medical crew members’ eyewitness account of the attack on Marmaris
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Medical crew members’ eyewitness account of the attack on Marmaris

Editing:Ömer Lütfü Gözsüz AA
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FETÖ soldiers attacked the hotel where President Erdoğan was staying in the resort town of Marmaris. On-site medical workers who treated wounded police in the aftermath of the attack spoke about what they experienced on the night of July 15.
Video
We were thrust into the action
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We were thrust into the action

Editing:Ömer Lütfü Gözsüz AA
00:10:10
Lt. Col. Bahattin Akgün, a pilot who delayed the attack on the hotel President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was staying in on the night of the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt, said: “I understood they were traitors when I heard them say: ‘By tomorrow, we’ll either be heroes or traitors.’ At that moment, I realized that we were thrust into the middle of the action of an insidious plot like this.”
MAPS
Assassination team's route
Assassination team's route

During FETÖ's July 15 coup attempt, Special Forces teams along with Battle Search and Rescue and Underwater Defense teams attempted to assassinate President Erdoğan and were provided with three helicopters. 

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4.10 The order that changed the course of the coup
CARD NO 48
BREAKING POINT The heroism that destroyed the plan to seize the Special Forces.
4.10 The order that changed the course of the coup

Special Forces 1st Brigadier Commander Brigadier General Semih Terzi, along with a team of 40 people, took off from the Diyarbakır 8th Main Jet Base and reached the Ankara Akıncı Air Base. General Staff Special Forces Commander Lieutenant General Zekai Aksakallı, who had escaped the ambush, heard of Terzi’s plan to seize the Special Forces Command. When Aksakallı phoned the Special Forces Command Headquarters, he learned that it had been seized by FETÖ-member soldiers.

Aksakallı talked to Sergeant Major Ömer Halisdemir, who had been serving as his bodyguard at the Special Forces Command, eight times during the coup night and ordered him to kill Colonel Ümit Bak and Semih Terzi in their last conversation. Halisdemir killed the putschist General Semih Terzi who had come to the Special Forces Command by a helicopter at 02.16 a.m. Halisdemir was martyred by coup plotters right there.

Video
Ömer Halisdemir shot putschist Terzi in the head
PLAY 00:02:55

Ömer Halisdemir shot putschist Terzi in the head

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:02:55
The Commander of the Special Forces First Brigade Semih Terzi came to the Special Forces Headquarters with 40 soldiers. Ömer Halisdemir was given the task to kill Semih Terzi by Zekai Pasha. By joining the team of soldiers Terzi arrived with, Halisdemir shot him in the head. Halisdemir was immediately shot at by the traitors, and then carried aside. Ömer Halisdemir was martyred by 1st Lt. Mihrali Atmaca, who shot Halisdemir when he realized he had not died yet.
EXPLANATION
NOTE:They killed Halisdemir in the back
  • Sergeant Major Ömer Halisdemir, who was martyred during the FETÖ/Parallel State Structure (PDY) bloody coup attempt on the night of July 15, is one of the most important figures who changed the course of the coup attempt. FETÖ-linked General Semih Terzi, who had been serving in Silopi, arrived at the Special Forces Command by helicopter around 02.16 a.m. Special Forces Commander Lieutenant General Zekai Aksakallı told Halisdemir, “My son, you are the honor of that office, do not surrender it.” Halisdemir took his weapon and mingled with the coup-plotters who got off from the helicopter. An officer going out from the headquarters welcomed Terzi who was approaching the building.

    Right then, Halisdemir pulled his gun and fired three times on Terzi. Terzi fell to the ground and Halisdemir ran toward the woodland near the headquarters. Meanwhile, coup-plotters along with Terzi opened fire on the back of Halisdemir 15 times. It was Major Fatih Şahin who fired the first bullet on Halisdemir 12 times. Terzi, who had been shot by Halisdemir, was brought to the headquarters by the coup-makers. Terzi stayed at the headquarters nearly 30 minutes and was brought to the Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) where he died. 

Video
Halisdemir’s father: I raised him for the country, gave him to the country
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Halisdemir’s father: I raised him for the country, gave him to the country

Editing:Ömer Lütfü Gözsüz AA
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Hasan Hüseyin Halisdemir, the father of Ömer Halisdemir, the man who changed the course of the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt perpetrated, in reference to his heroic son said: “I raised him for the country, gave him to the country.”
INFOGRAPHIC
How was Ömer Halisdemir killed?
How was Ömer Halisdemir killed?
Petty Officer Omer Halisdemir wrote history at the Special Forces Command, which was one of the most critical points of the coup attempt. Halisdemir, who shot putschıst Brigadier Semih Terzi from his forehead, fell as a martyr with the bullets of the traitors.
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4.11 Resistance to the coup in Istanbul and Konya
CARD NO 49
4.11 Resistance to the coup in Istanbul and Konya

Putschist soldiers entered Taksim Square and began besieging the Republic Monument. They fired guns into the air to disperse the people who were rising in number in a short while.

The people of Konya poured out onto the streets in the same hours. They gathered in front of the Konya Governorate and rushed into the airport in a convoy that included a number of trucks. They gathered at the Konya Airport and the 3rd Main Jet Base.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım connected to NTV’s broadcast once again at 02.55 a.m. Defining coup-plotters as the members of the terror organization, Prime Minister Yıldırım said that this attempt cannot be ascribed to any soldiers serving within the Turkish Armed Forces.

Video
Putschists surrender in Taksim Square
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Putschists surrender in Taksim Square

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:02:41
Putschists who clashed with civilians on the night of July 15 in Taksim Square did not succeed. Civilians surrounded the putschists after one of them was shot by the soldiers. The police force cleared Taksim Square of putschists together with the support of civilians.
Video
The prime minister’s second announcement on NTV
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The prime minister’s second announcement on NTV

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:07:55
After Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım’s first announcement, he connected to NTV for a second time in order to inform the public of developments. Yıldırım said that Turkish democracy was being tested, and that people should not see those responsible for the coup attempt as soldiers but as terrorists.
Video
Konya people one voice, one heart against the coup!
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Konya people one voice, one heart against the coup!

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:01:19
The people of Konya gathered around Konya Airport, the 3rd Main Jet Base and the Konya Governor’s Office upon the call of President Erdoğan. Citizens recited takbirs together in front of the Konya Governor’s Office and showed that they were against the coup attempt. Thereafter, the Konya Governor Yakup Canbolat came in front of his office and addressed the crowd.
Video
People advanced toward bullets
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People advanced toward bullets

Editing:Ömer Lütfü Gözsüz AA
00:03:13
Metin Bağ, an engineer who was wounded when the traitors opened fire in Taksim Square during the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt, said: “We warned the traitorous putschists and told them, ‘Don’t be against us, be on our side.’”
Video
The country is ours, the state is ours
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The country is ours, the state is ours

Editing:Ömer Lütfü Gözsüz AA
00:01:55
Metin Ayvaz, who had been taking the wounded to the hospital in his own car and was wounded in front of Gölbaşı Special Operations Command during the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt, said: “I was wounded after the second bomb. It was a night from hell. But I wouldn’t think twice before going if the same thing happened again.”
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4.12 Airstrikes and statements
CARD NO 50
4.12 Airstrikes and statements

Yeni Şafak Editor-in-Chief İbrahim Karagül connected to TVNET’s live broadcast by phone for the second time. Stressing that the national will frustrated the civil war scenario of FETÖ elements within the Turkish Armed Forces, Karagül said the attacks conducted by coup plotters were unprecedented in the world.


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Yeni Şafak Editor-In-Chief evaluated the coup on TVNET
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Yeni Şafak Editor-In-Chief evaluated the coup on TVNET

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:08:13
On the night of the coup attempt, TVNET and Yeni Şafak Editor-In-Chief İbrahim Karagül connected to a live TVNET broadcast and evaluated the developments. “This is a civil war and an occupation attempt,” he said.
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4.12 Airstrikes and statements
CARD NO 51
MUST SEE Historic speech at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
4.12 Airstrikes and statements

The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) made a critical statement against the FETÖ’s treacherous coup attempt. MİT Press Counselor Nuh Yılmaz stated, “The coup has been repelled.” Joining a live TV program, Yılmaz said, “The coup has been repelled, we are starting to return to normal. Now, we will start pinpoint shooting. Coup plotters are being neutralized one by one. This issue will not be concluded until morning. Everything has returned to normal at the MİT. Our people should not end resistance, as this is an attack against our democracy. They almost built a wall of flesh in front of all critical institutions.”

In the same hours, an F16 fighter jet belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces downed a Sikorsky helicopter used by coup plotters. In the meantime, fighter jets which conducted low-altitude flights over Ankara during the night carried out the first bomb attack on the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, injuring some police officers and Parliamentary staff. Meanwhile, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ made a historic speech at Parliament.

Putschist soldiers who raided the General Staff Headquarters martyred one of the civilians who had entered there in order to repel the coup. After having being martyred, his body was dragged on the ground.

Video
The first bombing of the TBMM
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The first bombing of the TBMM

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:01:22
One of the targets in Ankara during coup attempt was the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). On the night of the coup, planes carried out low altitude flights over Ankara. Pilots Hasan Hüsnü Balıkçı and Uğur Uzunoğlu dropped the first bomb on the TBMM on orders from Col. Ahmet Tosun. Security cameras recorded the bombing.
EXPLANATION
NOTE:Colonel's order
  • Colonel Ahmet Tosun ordered Pilot Hasan Hüsnü Balıkçı and Pilot Uğur Uzunoğlu to bomb the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The bombardment broke the windows around the honor gate into small pieces and caused great damage in the building.  

Video
Bekir Bozdağ: The thing for us to do here is die!
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Bekir Bozdağ: The thing for us to do here is die!

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:03:08
Members of Parliament were gathered in Parliament when putschists targeted it as part of the coup. While discussing what they needed to do, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ went to Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman and said that they should not close Parliament. Bozdağ said that if Parliament closed, it might dishearten the citizens and added, “The only thing for us to do is die here.”
Video
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization announces coup has been repelled
PLAY 00:02:05

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization announces coup has been repelled

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:02:05
Senior state officials made statements one after the other on the night of the coup attempt. Natıonal Intelligence Organization (MİT) Media Advisor Nuh Yılmaz commented on the coup after President Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and the 1st Army Commander and the Special Forces Commander. Yılmaz said that many of the putchists were neutralized after the public took to the streets and he asserted that the agenda of MİT had normalized as “the coup has been repelled.”
Video
The traitor putschists dragged the civilian they killed along the halls!
PLAY 00:01:16

The traitor putschists dragged the civilian they killed along the halls!

Editing:Celal Can Vatandaş Yeni Şafak
00:01:16
In the footage recorded by the security cameras during the attack against the General Staff Headquarters a putschist in casual clothes is seen dragging the body of a civilian, who had entered the headquarters intending to repel the coup and was killed there by the rifle of another putschist.
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