Attempted Coup in Turkey Fails

Political instability in Turkey, a NATO member and critical U.S. partner in the fight against terrorism, could pose a setback for the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

A coup attempt in Turkey was crushed and the "government is in control," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. About 200 people were killed and hundreds more arrested

On Friday afternoon, an as-yet unidentified faction of the Turkish military launched a coup attempt aimed at toppling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

The coup leaders, claiming to speak for the entire Turkish Armed Forces, said they’d done so in the name of protecting democracy — despite the fact that Erdogan and his party were democratically elected.