At least 6 injured in Turkey political party office explosion

At least six people were injured in one of two separate explosions Monday in buildings housing the local headquarters of a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey, the party said.

The blasts, in two cities in the south of the nation, came weeks before the country is due to hold a general election.

The explosions happened 10 minutes apart in the offices of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) in Mersin and in the Seyhan district of Adana.

In a statement, the HDP said six executives and workers were injured in Adana.

Provincial Governor Mustafa Buyuk told the Anadolu Agency that the explosion happened in the chairman's room of the HDP office, and suggested it was deliberate.

"We are investigating the source of the blast and the type of explosive," he told the news agency.

Turkey holds general elections on June 7, and the HDP is expected to play a key role.

If the party passes a 10% threshold it could prevent the ruling party from getting a sufficient majority in parliament to allow it to change the constitution — thwarting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans of turning Turkey's parliamentary system into a system with an all-powerful president.

The Anadolu Agency reported that Mersin police chief Rahmi Bastug said the second explosion happened in the HDP office's kitchen, and that there were no injuries. The blast came hours before HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas was due to deliver a speech in the city.

The HDP said the attack was aimed at disrupting the party's election campaign, and held Erdogan and ruling-party officials responsible.

It said they had turned the HDP into a target for attacks during their election rallies.

Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's spokesman, condemned the attack and said it was an assault on all political parties.

He rejected the HDP's accusations against Erdogan and said to make such claims before the investigation was concluded was "unacceptable."

Contributing: Associated Press