ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala has resigned, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, following a string of bombings that prompted public criticism and concerns about intelligence failures before last month’s failed coup.

Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala attends a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

The prime minister did not give a reason for the resignation in his brief statement broadcast on Turkish television channels.

But Turkey has faced a series of attacks blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants, and President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters in July that there had been clear intelligence failures in preventing last month’s failed coup attempt.

The Interior Ministry portfolio has been filled by Labor Minister Suleyman Soylu, the prime minister said.

Soylu said a day after the coup bid that it was clear “America is behind it”, though Erdogan’s spokesman later said he had spoken “in the heat of the moment”.

A senior official told Reuters that some of the appointments Ala had made while in post had raised concerns, as well as “his inability to meet expectations in some areas, primarily security.”

The interior minister has a high profile role in a nation seeking to stop foreigners crossing the southeastern frontier to join Islamic State in Syria. The minister is also on the front line of efforts to prevent militants infiltrating back into Turkey.

In addition, Turkey has been battling an insurgency by the Kurdish militant group PKK that is seeking autonomy in the southeast of the country. The group has launched a series of attacks since a ceasefire broke down last year.

The minister has been at the center of a campaign to root out sympathizers of the July 15 coup that sought to topple Erdogan and his government.

“Erdogan expects a much more effective fight against Fethullah Gulen organization,” the senior official said, adding that “Soylu is one of the names Erdogan trusts the most.”

The Turkish authorities have removed from public duties about 80,000 people suspected of having sympathies with the plotters and with a U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom officials accuse of masterminding the putsch.

Earlier on Wednesday, the outgoing interior minister had released new figures about the number of people arrested in the Turkey’s crackdown against Islamic State militants.

Ala said 865 people had been arrested since the start of 2016 alone, and more than half of those were foreigners.

The new labor minister was named as Mehmet Muezzinoglu, a deputy chairman of Erdogan’s AK Party. </s> ISTANBUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala has resigned, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, following a string of bombings that prompted public criticism and concerns about intelligence failures before last month's failed coup.

The prime minister did not give a reason for the resignation in his brief statement broadcast on Turkish television channels.

But Turkey has faced a series of attacks blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants, and President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters in July that there had been clear intelligence failures in preventing last month's failed coup attempt.

The Interior Ministry portfolio has been filled by Labour Minister Suleyman Soylu, the prime minister said.

Soylu said a day after the coup bid that it was clear "America is behind it", though Erdogan's spokesman later said he had spoken "in the heat of the moment".

The interior minister has a high profile role in a nation seeking to stop foreigners crossing the southeastern frontier to join Islamic State in Syria. The minister is also on the front line of efforts to prevent militants infiltrating back into Turkey.

In addition, Turkey has been battling an insurgency by the Kurdish militant group PKK that is seeking autonomy in the southeast of the country. The group has launched a series of attacks since a ceasefire broke down last year.

The minister has been at the centre of a campaign to root out sympathisers of the July 15 coup that sought to topple Erdogan and his government.

The Turkish authorities have removed from public duties about 80,000 people suspected of having sympathies with the plotters and with a U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom officials accuse of masterminding the putsch.

Earlier on Wednesday, the outgoing interior minister had released new figures about the number of people arrested in the Turkey's crackdown against Islamic State militants.

Ala said 865 people had been arrested since the start of 2016 alone, and more than half of those were foreigners.

The new labour minister was named as Mehmet Muezzinoglu, a deputy chairman of Erdogan's AK Party. </s> The Latest: Turkish minister shrugs off sanctions for pastor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on an American pastor detained in Turkey (all times local):

Turkey's justice minister has shrugged off a U.S. decision to impose sanctions against him and another Turkish government minister, saying he doesn't have a penny to his name anywhere outside Turkey.

The U.S. announced sanctions against Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over the detention of American pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the ministers' agencies were responsible for the pastor's arrest and detention.

Gul took to Twitter on Wednesday to say that he had no assets outside Turkey and that he dreamt of owning "a small olive grove" in his Turkish hometown.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: "The U.S. attempt to impose sanctions will not remain without an answer."

Turkey is calling on the United States to reverse its decision to sanction two Turkish government ministers over a detained American pastor and is threatening to retaliate "without delay."

A Foreign Ministry statement issued Wednesday said Turkey "strongly protests" the U.S. Treasury's decision to impose sanctions against Turkey's justice and interior ministers. It said Turkey would "respond in kind without delay" against what it described as an aggressive stance by the United States.

President Donald Trump had warned last week that he might impose sanctions against Turkey for its treatment of Andrew Craig Brunson, who is under arrest in Turkey and accused of espionage and aiding terror groups.

The ministry called the sanctions a "disrespectful intervention in our legal system" that would harm "the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries."

The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Trump administration will sanction Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior over the holding of 50-year-old Andrew Craig Brunson.

The administration says Turkey's Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu both played leading roles in the organizations responsible for Brunson's arrest and detention.

Brunson, an evangelical pastor, was arrested in December 2016 and jailed. He was recently released to home detention.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH'-jehp TY'-ihp UR'-doh-wahn) has said his government won't back down and may "go its own way" if the U.S. imposes sanctions. </s> The Turkish Interior Ministry on Monday dismissed three mayors in eastern Turkey for supporting terrorism.

ALL MAYORS HAVE ACTIVE CASES AGAINST THEM

According to an official statement by the ministry, the mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces -- Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, respectivelhave been suspended.

It added that the mayors already had active cases against them in which they were accused of crimes such as establishing or spreading propaganda for a terror group or else just being being a member All mayors are from opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party Turkey's government has accused of having links to the PKK terror group.

The state-appointed governors of the provinces will temporarily replace dismissed mayors. </s> ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fiercely denounced Israel for the bombing of a building housing Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

The bombing came amid heavy fighting on Saturday, as Gazan terrorists fired over 250 rockets at Israel and Jerusalem responded with airstrikes on the Strip.

“We strongly condemn Israel’s attack against Anadolu Agency’s office in Gaza,” Erdogan said on Twitter.

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“Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks,” he wrote.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit. The IDF said the eight-story building was used by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups to conduct terrorist activities.

Staff were evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: “Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israel’s unrestrained aggression.

“Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone,” he said.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under a shaky ceasefire that had brought several months of relative calm to the restive region.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticized Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift mainly over Israeli actions in Gaza.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a “tyrant” after Netanyahu called him a “dictator” and a “joke.” </s> Turkish police have detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry announcement on Twitter followed its earlier statement that the mayors of three major southeastern cities had been replaced by state officials in terrorism-related investigations.

The pro-Kurdish party mayors of Diyarbakir, Van and Mardin were replaced on Monday, and state governors were appointed in their place.

The mayors were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist group propaganda, Reuters said. </s> Mayors of three eastern provinces dismissed by Interior Ministry

The Turkish Interior Ministry on Aug. 19 dismissed three mayors in eastern Turkey over what it called terror links.

According to an official statement by the ministry, the mayors of the southeastern Diyarbakır and Mardin provinces and the eastern Van province — Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, Ahmet Türk, and Bedia Özgökçe Ertan — who were elected by overwhelming majorities in the March 31 local elections, have been suspended.

They are accused of various crimes, including “membership of a terrorist organization” and “spreading terrorist propaganda,” the statement said.

It added that the mayors already had active cases against them in which they were accused of crimes such as establishing or spreading propaganda for a terror group or just being members of it.

The ministry said the PKK “exerted heavy efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once they would be elected and would be under its guidance and orientation.”

“Once the metropolitan mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van provinces had taken their offices, it was highlighted that they exerted the so-called “co-mayor” practice upon the instructions of the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization,” said the statement.

All mayors are from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a party Turkey’s government has accused of having links to the PKK terror group. The state-appointed governors of the provinces will temporarily replace dismissed mayors.

The HDP appoints two co-leaders to almost all its constituencies, requiring that one leader is a man and the other a woman.

The mayors “intended to convert the municipalities into an administrative structure separate from the whole country, they de facto employed the former municipal employees, who had been removed from their offices due to their engagement, affiliation and relation with the terrorist organization,” said the statement.

Recalling ongoing separate investigations into and prosecutions on the mayors over alleged “terror links,” the statement said they have been suspended from their duties as an interim precaution for the safety of the judicial/administrative investigations/prosecutions.

The governor of Diyarbakır, Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu, has been appointed as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Diyarbakır, Mardin Governor Mustafa Yaman as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Mardin and Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Van.

“We are after the struggle for democracy. We will surely ask the account of what this power has done,” said the co-chair of the HDP, Sezai Temelli.

In his first statement, Güzeloğlu said the municipal resources were being used in favor of the PKK and added: “This is unacceptable and unsustainable.”

“The ballot boxes will lose its meaning” if the elected mayors are suspended and trustees replace them, said the spokesperson of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Faik Öztrak, at a press conference.

Ahead of the March elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said that the government will appoint trustees to the local municipalities they see as providing support to the PKK.

Ahead of the March local election, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said 178 election candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

The government had previously replaced elected mayors with trustees on grounds that they allegedly aided and abetted PKK’s activities. The appointments were made predominantly in eastern and southeastern provinces’ municipalities run by the HDP.

In 2016, the Interior Ministry appointed trustees to 28 local municipalities across the country on accusations that they allegedly provided support to the PKK and FETÖ, widely believed to have staged the coup attempt of July 15, 2016.

In over 30 years of clashes between the PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – and the Turkish state, more than 40,000 people have died.

More than 400 suspects detained in 29 provinces

Meanwhile, more than 400 people were detained in operations in 29 provinces across Turkey, including the southeastern and eastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Mardin, and Van, over alleged links to the outlawed PKK, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry announcement, made on Twitter, followed its earlier announcement that the mayors of the three major southeastern and eastern provinces had been replaced by state-appointed officials in terrorism-related investigations.

The ministry said the PKK had been seeking to exploit the March elections to boost its support and had exerted efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once elected.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed PKK, the ministry added.

Security forces launched a domestic operation against the PKK in the country’s east and southeast, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The large scale offensive was launched in eastern Van province and southeastern Hakkari and Şırnak provinces on Aug. 18, the ministry said in a written statement. Some 130 teams of police, gendarmerie, and village guards joined the counter-terrorism operation, it added.

A total of 43 caves and shelters used by PKK militants have been destroyed so far, read the statement, adding that the operation will resolutely continue “until all terrorists in the region are neutralized.” Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralize” in statements to imply the militants in question surrendered or were killed or captured. </s> The United States on Wednesday hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor facing terror charges, heaping pressure on Ankara to release the prisoner fueling a bitter diplomatic feud.

The move targeting Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu further ratcheted up tensions between the NATO allies, with Ankara vowing to retaliate over the measures and what it dubbed an "aggressive attitude."

Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was placed under house arrest last week after nearly two years in jail on charges of espionage and supporting terror groups. He faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted.

"We've seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong, and we believe he's a victim of unfair and unjust attention by the government of Turkey," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told journalists.

"At the president's direction, the Department of the Treasury is sanctioning Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior, both of whom played leading roles in the arrest and detention of Pastor Brunson."

The sanctions freeze any property or assets on US soil held by the two ministers, and bar US citizens from doing business with them.

Turkey's foreign ministry did not waste time in hitting back, saying: "There is no doubt that this will greatly damage constructive efforts working to solve the issues between the two countries."

"Without delay, there will be a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose," the ministry added.

"We call on the US administration to turn back from this wrong decision."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, and has plans to meet him next week to demand Brunson's freedom, the State Department said.

"Turkey knows our position well: Pastor Brunson must be released from house arrest and brought back home," Pompeo's spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters traveling with him.

"This has gone on far too long."

Pompeo said Trump had decided that sanctions were "the appropriate action."

Brunson was initially detained in October 2016 during Turkey's crackdown following an attempted putsch.

He stands accused of carrying out activities on behalf of two organizations Ankara considers terror groups.

One is led by the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish authorities say was behind a 2016 failed coup. The other is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The pastor denies the charges and his defense team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements. His next hearing is set for October 12.

Vice President Mike Pence, who like Brunson is an evangelical Christian, has declared him "a victim of religious persecution."

But Erdogan retorted that Turkey does not have the "slightest problem against religious minorities."

On Wednesday, Erdogan accused the United States of having an "evangelist, Zionist mentality" and using "threat-filled language."

Brunson is one of tens of thousands of people -- several of them Americans -- detained on similar charges during the state of emergency declared by Erdogan in the wake of the 2016 failed coup bid.

The spat over the pastor has stoked tensions between the two governments, which were already quarreling over Washington's support of a Syrian Kurdish militia.

Turkey is also angry at the United States for its refusal to extradite Gulen, who lives in exile in rural Pennsylvania and vehemently denies that he masterminded the failed 2016 coup bid.

Ankara meanwhile upset Washington by imprisoning two Turkish employees of American consulates in the country and holding another under house arrest on terror-related charges.

The imposition of sanctions on the two ministers is sure to fuel the fire.

"President Trump has made it abundantly clear that the United States expects Turkey to release him immediately," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement announcing the punitive measures against Gul and Soylu.

Washington accused the two ministers of leading government organizations behind "serious human rights abuses."

The Turkish lira fell to a record low of 5.0 against the dollar after the sanctions announcement, losing more than 1.6 percent of its value. </s> ANKARA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua/GNA) - Turkey's Interior Ministry on Monday dismissed three mayors of the opposition People's Democratic Party (HDP) in eastern and southeastern Turkey over alleged terror links.

Turkish police have also detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said the ministry.

The mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces, namely Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, have been suspended, a statement from the ministry said.

The mayors have been replaced by state-appointed governors.

The police have been carrying out an operation in the municipalities, local media reported.

The Turkish government accuses the opposition HDP of having links to the PKK, a group that was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkish government, the United States and the EU.

The ministry said the PKK exerted heavy efforts to nominate candidates "who would be easily led once they would be elected and would be under its guidance and orientation."

These mayors were elected on March 31 in local elections.

"Once the Metropolitan Mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van Provinces had taken their offices, it was highlighted that they exerted the so-called 'co-mayor' practice upon the instructions of the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization," said the ministry.

The mayors "intended to convert the municipalities into an administrative structure separate from the whole country, they de facto employed the former municipal employees, who had been removed from their offices due to their engagement, affiliation and relation with the terrorist organization," said the statement.

Concerning the ongoing separate investigations and prosecutions on these mayors over alleged terror links, the ministry said that they have been suspended from their duties as an interim precaution for safety and security concerns.

The move is part of the efforts by the Turkish government, which has recently intensified its fight against the PKK in the military level both in Turkey and in northern Iraq.
Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala resigns amid criticism over his handling of a string of ISIL and PKK terror attacks, and is replaced by Süleyman Soylu.