TURKEY’S government blamed the United States yesterday for Friday night’s botched military coup as the commander of the main Nato airbase in the country was arrested.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government cracked down hard, arresting at least 6,000 soldiers, judges and others.

More than 50 generals were under arrest, while 2,745 judges were sacked and warrants issued for the arrests of 53 judges and prosecutors.

Among the prisoners was General Bekir Ercan Van, the commander of Incirlik air base, where US and German planes are based, and 11 other low-ranking officers from the facility.

Turkish air force F-16 jets used in the coup to buzz the capital Ankara and bomb the parliament building had reportedly attempted to refuel from tanker aircraft operating from Incirlik.

Yesterday, US-led coalition air strikes on Syria and Iraq resumed from the base, where US forces have nuclear weapons stockpiled, after the electricity supply, cut on Saturday, was restored.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday that the coup had been defeated and life had returned to normal.

Thousands of mourners attended a funeral in Istanbul for six of the 265 people killed in the violence, among them Mr Erdogan’s aide Mustafa Varank.

Unarmed protesters had confronted troops blocking the Bosphorus Bridge, lynching many of them. Some soldiers said they had been told it was merely a drill.

Mourners called for the death penalty for Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher and former ally of Mr Erdogan, after the government said he was behind the coup.

Mr Erdogan and Mr Yildirim condemned Nato ally the US for granting Mr Gulen political asylum on a luxurious estate and demanded his extradition.

“Mr President, I told you myself, either deport or hand over to us this person who lives in 400 acres of land in Pennsylvania,” Mr Erdogan told a triumphant rally of his supporters in Istanbul on Saturday night.

Earlier, Mr Yildirim said any country that stood by Mr Gulen was no friend of Turkey and should be considered at war with the country.

Labour Minister Suleyman Soylu went further, saying: “The United States is behind the coup” and adding that it must now hand over Mr Gulen.