By TIM ARANGO and CEYLAN YEGINSU

ISTANBUL — Military factions in Turkey tried to seize control of the country Friday night, setting off a furious scramble for power and plunging a crucial NATO member and American ally into chaos in what was already one of the world’s most unstable regions.

Early on Saturday morning, however, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose whereabouts was unclear through a long night of turmoil, flew to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, a strong signal that the coup was failing.

“A minority within the armed forces has unfortunately been unable to stomach Turkey’s unity,” Mr. Erdogan said at the airport, after the private NTV network showed him greeting supporters. Blaming political enemies, Mr. Erdogan said “what is being perpetrated is a rebellion and a treason. They will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey.”

There were indications that coup leaders, at a minimum, did not have a tight grip on many parts of the country. Supporters of Mr. Erdogan took to the streets of Istanbul to oppose the coup plotters, and there were scattered reports some of its leaders had been arrested.

Barbara Tasch

The French police have named Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel as the suspect in the attack in Nice, France, on Thursday night, Le Monde reports. The attacker reportedly shot at a crowd of Bastille Day revelers from a truck and accelerated the vehicle into them, leaving at least 84 people dead and hundreds more injured. Al Jazeera News on Friday afternoon released a purported photo of the alleged attacker. Police officers shot the attacker dead. Authorities found identity papers in the truck.

The Nice-Matin newspaper reported that people close to Bouhlel were being questioned by the police. Bouhlel's neighbors described him as a solitary and quiet person in interviews with AFP. Most people in his apartment building said they never talked to him. Bouhlel was born in 1985 and was of Tunisian origin, from the town of Msaken, The Telegraph reports, citing Tunisian security sources. The newspaper reported that Bouhlel was a father of three who had become depressed since a divorce, citing neighbors who said he also had financial problems.

His ex-wife has been taken into custody according to Nice-Matin.

by Pamela Engel

Another attack has hit France, and early indications seem to point to terrorism.

At least 70 people were reportedly killed in the southern French city of Nice when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on Thursday night.

If a terrorist group is responsible, then this would be the second major terrorist attack to his France in a year — and the third since January 2015.

John Schindler, the national-security columnist for The New York Observer, tweeted after the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people: "Jihadists with Balkan small arms were shooting up France in 1995 ... got no idea why anybody is surprised." Attackers used guns and bombs at several sites across Paris in that attack, including the Stade de France and the Bataclan theater, leading to an examination of why France has become a prime target for terrorist groups.

ISIS — aka the Islamic State, Daesh, or ISIL — called Paris "the capital of prostitution and vice" in a statement claiming responsibility for the Paris attacks last year. The terrorist group also stated that France and "all nations following in its path" are "at the top of the target list for the Islamic State." Under President Francois Hollande, France launched its first airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria last September. The country is also a closer and more opportunistic target for extremist groups.

Witnesses at the Bataclan said that the gunmen shouted in French, "This is because of all the harm done by Hollande to Muslims all over the world," according to The New York Times. Another witness confirmed this to CNN, telling the news network that the attacker who shouted that statement sounded like a native French speaker.

by Pamela Engel

It's not clear yet who is responsible for the truck attack that killed dozens at a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France. But terrorist groups have long been calling for supporters to attack "infidels" with cars. At least 70 people were killed in the southern French city of Nice when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the country's national holiday on Thursday night.

The earliest information from the attack does point to terrorist involvement. US President Barack Obama said that it appears to be a "horrific terrorist attack." The truck was reportedly loaded with firearms and grenades, and US officials told The Daily Beast that the terrorist group ISIS — aka the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh — is a top suspect in the attacks.

ISIS and Al Qaeda have publicly called for supporters to use vehicles as weapons. The Institute for the Study of War noted in a 2014 report that ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani instructed supporters in a speech in September of that year.

He said: