Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanli, surrounded by his colleagues and plainclothes police officers (C), reacts as he leaves the headquarters of Zaman daily newspaper in Istanbul December 14, 2014. REUTERS/Yagiz Karahan
IZMIT, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended weekend raids on media outlets close to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric as a necessary response to "dirty operations" by the government's political enemies, and told a critical European Union to mind its own business.
Sunday's raids on the Zaman daily and Samanyolu television marked an escalation in Erdogan's battle with former ally Fethullah Gulen. The two have been in open conflict since a corruption probe targeting Erdogan's inner circle a year ago, which Erdogan blamed on Gulen.
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