ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday battled to regain control over Turkey after a coup bid by discontented soldiers, as signs grew that the most serious challenge to his 13 years of dominant rule was starting to falter.

After hours of chaos unseen in decades, Erdogan ended uncertainty over his whereabouts, flying into Istanbul airport in the early hours where he made a defiant speech and was greeted by hundreds of supporters.

Soldiers and tanks took to the streets late on Friday and multiple explosions rang out throughout the night in Ankara and Istanbul, the two biggest cities of the strategic Nato member of 80 million people. With officials insisting the takeover bid was falling apart, officials said 60 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and 754 soldiers detained.