Twitter throttled in Turkey amid attempted coup

Twitter said its traffic had been "intentionally slowed" on Friday in Turkey amid an attempted military coup.

Facebook and YouTube, too, appeared to have been blocked briefly as tanks barged through the streets of Istanbul during what Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called an attempted coup by parts of the nation's military.

The military activity in Istanbul and the capital of Ankara was unexpected and sudden. Initial reports emerged of military jets flying low over Ankara while the main bridges across the Bosphorus, the body of water that separates the European from the Asian half of Istanbul, were closed by armed forces.

Military officers reportedly took over the state broadcasting network and announced they had assumed control of the country, though other government officials disputed this.

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According to CNN Turk, the anchor who read the military statement later said she did so under gun threat.

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As confusion regarding the military activity spread across social media, reports emerged that the country's social media had been blacked out, though Twitter reported only a slowing of its traffic. Facebook and YouTube declined to comment.

Social media often fades in and out in Turkey during times of strife. Major social media sites were recently blocked in Turkey following an extremist attack in June at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.

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The Turkish government often blocks social media sites in times of calamity, so much so that several news organizations have written about how to get around those blocks.

Many Turkish residents change their location in their domain name settings or use virtual private networks (commonly known as VPNs) to get around blocks. Twitter users in Turkey can also tweet via SMS.

Periscope and Whatsapp, however, are reportedly running normally. Other users cast doubt on the extent of the social media blackout, saying that their access to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram hadn't been affected.

Some reports told of military vehicles blocking access to Ataturk Airport, which was shut down Friday night. It's unclear whether soldiers in those vehicles were a part of a coup attempt or merely a part of government forces on watch for suspicious activity.

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Turkish Airlines tweeted at 9.30 p.m. PT, claiming that its operations at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport had resumed on the orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It's unclear if it or other airlines are flying into or departing from the airport.

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In addition to military vehicles in city streets, military jets flew over the capital city of Ankara earlier in the day.

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Initially, President Erdoğan's exact whereabouts were unknown, though he was reportedly taken to a "safe place in Marmaris" by supposedly loyal guards. He also made a statement to the country via FaceTime, urging people to take to the streets and resist the military coup.

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Erdogan arrived back in Istanbul early Saturday morning and was greeted by large crowds at Ataturk Airport. According to transcripts of the president's remarks provided by his office, Erdogan said that he arrived in Istanbul from the holiday resort of Marmaris

"Turkey has a democratically elected government and president," Erdogan said, per the transcript. "We are in charge and we will continue exercising our powers until the end. We will not abandon our country to these invaders. It will end well."

The coup makers "are a minority within the military," he added.

Turkey is a member of NATO, and is a custodian of nuclear weapons for the United States hosts nuclear weapons there.

UPDATED:

• July 15, 2016 7 p.m. PT -- Added Erdogan's arrival in Istanbul.

• July 15, 2016 11.24 p.m. PT -- Added TRT anchor details and statement from Turkish Airlines.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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