The Ministry of Interior announced Monday that 259 mukhtars, also known as village headmen, were dismissed for links to terrorist groups and actions unsuitable for their duty.

A statement by the ministry said that 103 village mukhtars and 156 neighborhood mukhtars were dismissed by the order of Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

The dismissals are a temporary measure until administrative and judiciary investigations are completed, it added.

Mukhtars are elected officials who serve as the lowest administrative authority in Turkey.