The first 48 hours after Friday evening's failed coup d'etat in Turkey has seen the launching of a massive crackdown on anyone even suspected of being involved, with some 6,000 from the military already detained in relation to the attempt, including the commander of the Incirlik Air Base, where U.S. troops and a substantial number of USA nuclear arms are stationed.

In the throes of a military coup attempt, Turkey's embattled president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pointed the finger of blame squarely at his bitter rival: Fethullah Gulen, reports CNN.

There clearly has been resentment within the military, but as this failed coup attempt has shown, during Erdogan's 13-year tenure as prime minister and then president, the military's leadership largely had been taken over by Erdogan's men - stripping this coup attempt of needed command and coherence, White said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip addresses the crowd following a funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, July 17, 2016.

David Weil, a doctoral student at Princeton now in Turkey on a research fellowship, said those he saw celebrating the putsch's failure didn't seem to acknowledge in any way "that it was the increasing authoritarianism and incompetence of the ruling government" that led to the attempt to remove Erdogan from power.

Photojournalist Mustafa Cambaz also died following calls by Erdogan for supporters to oppose the coup attempt, killed by gunfire in the streets of Istanbul.

The coup attempt seems to have been decisively quashed, with almost 6,000 military personnel in custody. The same official said the situation in Konya was "under control" after coup backers there also resisted arrest. Behind this solidarity of the diverse is one shared understanding: Democracy today stands as the most valuable asset to protect the rights of all people. A Turkish brigadier general at the base has already been detained for his alleged role in Friday's uprising, and news reports say refueling aircraft that took off from the base helped keep F-16s used by the coup-plotters up in the air.

Harsh rhetoric aside, it's not clear how far Turkey is willing to go to try to force Washington to return the cleric. A government official said autopsies have been completed on 165 people, including 115 reclaimed by their families.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol, initially reported there were clashes in the area.

"No, the attempted coup in Turkey was not a "gift from God", as declared by the president", stated the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on Monday. The Turkish flag was hung on Saturday in support of the government following the attempted coup.

The crackdown targeted not only generals and soldiers, but a wide swath of the judiciary that has sometimes blocked Erdogan, raising concerns that the effort to oust him will push Turkey even further into authoritarian rule.

On Sunday, however, it appears Erdogan's popularity online increased.

"Just a small group from Turkish armed forces stood up against our government ... but we, the Turkish nation, stand together and repulse it back", said Gozde Kurt, a 16-year-old student at a morning rally in Istanbul. The usually buzzing airport was eerily quiet. "Our wish is that such coups never happen in Turkey, but it happens".

Officials claimed the judges and the coup plotters were loyal to moderate cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has often accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

Gulen, who lives in Saylorsburgh, Pennsylvania, espouses a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with democracy. Gulen fled Turkey in 1999 and was accused of trying to overthrow government. He strongly denies the government's charges.

"I don't believe the US will honor a request that is based on the enmity of a regime, which is recognized as dictatorial and has lost all of its credibility in the eyes of the world", Mr. Gulen said from his home in rural Pennsylvania, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999. Tensions between the US and Turkey are certain to rise as Ankara presses its allegation that Mr. Gulen is a criminal guilty of treason.

Suleyman Soylu, Turkey's labour minister, went further than Erdogan, suggesting the United States was behind the coup.