AK Party candidate wounded in knife attack in Turkey's southern Adana province

Ramazan Demir, a candidate running to become a deputy from the AK Party in June 7 general elections has been wounded in a knife attack in southern Turkish province of Adana on Saturday.

Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik confirmed the incident on his Twitter account and condemned the attack. He stated that Demir was transferred to a hospital in downtown Adana, while wishing him a speedy recovery.

Demir, who was campaigning in the Adana electoral district, was stabbed three times with a knife by unidentified attackers according to reports.

Demir is not the first victim of such pre-election violence. On Wednesday, Cüneyt Yıldız, the mayor of northwestern province of Bursa's Gürsu district from the AK Party, was seriously injured in a shooting at his office.

The suspect was a member of the municipality police known as "zabıta" who argued with the mayor for an unknown reason before he fired his pistol before fleeing the scene. The mayor's driver who was at the office was also injured in the attack.

A lone gunman opened fire at an election campaign office for the ruling AK Party in the southeastern province of Batman on April 23.

Abit Nasıroğlu, 27, who was in the office at the time of the attack, was killed. The gunman, who fled on foot, was captured by police. The victim was the son of a former AK Party lawmaker.

Doğan News Agency quoted a local party official as saying the attack was not politically motivated and stemmed from a feud between the victim and the suspect.

The attacks, which come less than a month ahead of the June 7 general elections, raised concerns about pre-election violence, but initial reports indicated that the attack on Yıldız was not politically motivated.

On Monday, two bombs hit offices of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in two provinces in the south, injuring six.