The plane left the Malatya military airbase in the south-east of Turkey and was reported to have lost radio contact with the base as it made its way over the Mediterranean Sea west of the Syrian coast.

Anatolian reported the plane as being "on duty", but details of the operation it was undertaking were not immediately available.

"Search and rescue efforts started immediately," the Turkish military said in a statement.

The Turkish government has called an emergency security meeting to address the situation.

More to come

jlw/tj (AFP, dpa, Reuters)