Ankara: At least 60 people have been killed and 336 detained in a night of violence across Turkey sparked when elements in the military staged an attempted coup, a senior Turkish official said.

The majority of those killed were civilians and most of those detained are soldiers, said the official, without giving further details.

Forty-two people were killed in the Turkish capital Ankara during an attempted coup that started on Friday night, a senior Turkish official said, confirming an earlier report from state-run Anadolu Agency.

Seventeen of those killed were police officers, Anadolu said.