Turkey's Erdoğan slams US move to issue warrants for bodyguards

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized the U.S. move to issue arrest warrants for 12 of his bodyguards allegedly linked with a brawl outside the Turkish embassy in Washington last month.

Several people were injured when a brawl broke outside Turkey's Washington embassy during Erdoğan's visit to the U.S. in May. Washington D.C. police reportedly obtained the arrest warrants for the Turkish president's bodyguards on June 15. 

Speaking at an iftar dinner in the capital Ankara on June 15, Erdoğan said: "They have issued arrest warrants for 12 of my bodyguards. What kind of law is this?

"If my bodyguards cannot protect me then why am I bringing them to America with me?"

Erdoğan also said the U.S. police did not intervene the brawl, while urging for empathy over what would happen if the same brawl occurred in Turkey.  He noted that Ankara would continue its political and legal struggle regarding the incident.

The melee outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during the president's visit to the United States in May strained U.S.-Turkish relations. Eleven people were hurt in what Washington's police chief described as a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters.

The Turkish Embassy had blamed the violence on demonstrators linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which Turkey and the U.S. consider a terrorist group.

Two men identified as Sinan Narin of Virginia and Eyüp Yıldırım of New Jersey were detained over the incident on June 14.