The U.S. government said it has suspended all flights to Turkey, and banned all airlines from flying to the United States from Turkey due to uncertainty after an abortive coup attempt.

The news comes as the U.S. military has also suspended air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq from a base in southern Turkey, a U.S. official said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's order, issued late Friday, comes as the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Saturday instructed U.S. government employees to avoid Ataturk airport owing to reports of sporadic gunfire.

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Passengers wait after their flights were cancelled on Saturday at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey following a failed coup attempt

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's order, issued late Friday, comes as the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Saturday instructed U.S. government employees to avoid Ataturk airport owing to reports of sporadic gunfire

The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs said on Twitter that 'all airlines prohibited by FAA from flying to US from Turkey directly or w/stopover'

'All airlines prohibited by FAA from flying to US from #Turkey directly or w/stopover,' the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs said on Twitter.

The U.S. embassy in Ankara added that security 'at Ataturk airport is significantly diminished and US government employees have been instructed not to attempt to travel to and from Ataturk airport.'

In reference to the FAA note, the embassy said that U.S. airline carriers 'are prohibited from flying to or from Istanbul and Ankara airports.

'All airline carriers, regardless of country of registry, are prohibited from flying into the United States from Turkey either directly or via third country,' the embassy said.

It advised U.S. citizens in Turkey 'to seek shelter in safe places,' avoid unnecessary travel and monitor media reports.

People wait at Turkish Airlines desk at Adolfo Suarez airport in Barajas, near Madrid on Saturday as Turkish Airlines cancelled their flights following last night's attempted coup in Turkey

Passengers wait at a Turkish Airlines desk at Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas airport on Saturday

The U.S. embassy in Ankara added that security 'at Ataturk airport is significantly diminished and US government employees have been instructed not to attempt to travel to and from Ataturk airport'

The warnings remain in place even though Turkish airports reopened following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pre-dawn announcement of victory over discontented army officers who mounted a bloody attempt to overthrow him.

Forces loyal to Turkey's president quashed the coup attempt in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left at least 161 people dead and 1,440 wounded Saturday.

Authorities arrested thousands as Erdogan vowed that those responsible 'will pay a heavy price for their treason.'

The chaos came amid a period of political turmoil in Turkey - a NATO member and key Western ally in the fight against the Islamic State group - that critics blame on Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule.

Staying in power by switching from being prime minister to president, Erdogan has shaken up the government, cracked down on dissidents, restricted the news media and renewed fighting with Kurdish rebels.

The government has also come under pressure from the millions of refugees in Turkey who have fled violence in neighboring Syria and Iraq, and a series of bloody attacks in Turkey blamed on the Islamic State group and Kurdish rebels.

Meanwhile on Saturday, operations from the U.S. military Incirlik air base were suspended because of the closure of the airspace used by the missions, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

This file photo shows a US Air Force C-5 Galaxy Outsize Cargo Transport Aircraft landing at Incirlik air base in Turkey in 2015. The U.S. military has suspended air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq from a base in southern Turkey, a U.S. official said

U.S. forces 'were adjusting flight operations in the counter-ISIL campaign to minimize any effects on the campaign,' he said, apparently suggesting missions against IS -- also known as ISIL -- could launch from other locations.

The Turkish authorities imposed a security lockdown at Incirlik on Saturday following an attempted coup d'etat by military officers overnight.

U.S. forces use Incirlik to launch bombing missions against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. They have notably deployed drones, Prowler electronic warplanes and A-10 ground attack aircraft from the base.

An American official had said late Friday that anti-IS missions from Incirlik had not been affected by the coup attempt. But the closing of airspace changed that, Cook said Saturday.

While electricity to Incirlik had been cut off, generators had been able to maintain operations, and that flights could be launched once airspace reopened, he said.

'U.S. officials are working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible,' Cook said.

People on a tank run over cars on a road in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday. Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim reportedly said that the Turkish military was involved in an attempted coup d'etat. The Turkish military meanwhile stated it had taken over control

Workers inspect and clear debris after the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was bombed by rebel jets, on Saturday in Ankara

People kick and beat a Turkish soldier that participated in the attempted coup, on Istanbul's Bosporus Bridge

The U.S. military has around 2,200 service members and civilian employees in Turkey, which is a NATO member and a crucial regional partner for Washington. Some 1,500 are stationed in Incirlik.

American commanders have placed all their forces in Turkey on maximum alert, suspending all non-essential activities.

Following efforts to account for all US personnel, Cook said, 'all indications at this time are that everyone is safe and secure.'

On Saturday, Turkish authorities were seeking to resume business as usual and Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport - shut down by the plotters - was gradually reopening.

But international carriers were preferring to wait and see before resuming a normal service.

Along with their U.S. counterparts, Russian airlines are currently not flying passengers to Turkey although they are repatriating vacationers back home.

Major European carrier Lufthansa, the biggest German airline, cancelled all flights to Istanbul and Ankara on Saturday.

British Airways went further and cancelled all its Saturday flights to and from Turkey 'in light of the events unfolding' there, a company spokeswoman said.

Lufthansa cancelled eight of the 10 flights scheduled between Germany and Turkey, including all flights to Ankara and Istanbul.

The two remaining flights will go to the resorts of Bodrum and Antalya, a Lufthansa spokesman told AFP.

The German airline would decide later in the day whether to run flights on Sunday, he added.

Meanwhile, Putin asked officials to provide everything necessary for tourists awaiting flights to Turkey in Russian airports 'until the situation becomes clear.'

Russia's national carrier Aeroflot has cancelled its flights to Istanbul and Antalya on Saturday and Sunday.