Blast Wounds 11 in Southeastern Turkey

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that three extremists were “neutralized” in a security operation in the Semdinli district of southeastern Turkey’s Hakkari province Monday night.

There were no immediate official reports on who or what group may have been behind the plot.

“It is a step taken too late in my opinion”, Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after attending Eid prayers.

The HDP decried what it said was an “administrative coup” and said the move was illegal.

Turkey has suffered a string of attacks in recent months from both Kurdish militants linked with the PKK as well as from the IS group, resulting in dozens of casualties.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told Anadolu agency that security forces had taken precautions to prevent violent attacks during the nine-day Eid al-Adha festival. You don’t have such an authority.

The embassy also expressed hope that the trustees would serve only temporarily and that citizens would soon be able to elect new officials. The government said in a statement that Turkey removed the mayors to stop local governments from aiding terrorism with public property and funds.

The visit by Mehmet, his first in two years, came on the eighth day of a hunger strike by 50 Kurdish politicians and activists demanding news on Ocalan’s health after the failed July 15 military coup.

Turkish police detain a teacher during a protest against the dismissal of teachers over suspected links to the PKK, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 9, 2016.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag chided the US ambassador after his embassy issued a statement on Sunday saying it hoped the appointment of the administrators would be temporary.

“First of all, it wasn’t us who destroyed the process”, he said, referring to a peace process which began in 2013 but collapsed in a year ago.