Turkish security forces on Sunday raided a Kurdish town where the army launched a botched air strike in 2011 that killed dozens of people including children, local media reported.

Seven people were detained in the dawn raid on houses in Uludere near the Iraqi border in southeastern Turkey, Hurriyet newspaper reported on its website.

Turkish riot police were out in force on Sunday as large crowds massed in Istanbul to demand justice for a prominent Turkish Armenian journalist murdered seven years ago.

"Murderer state will account for this," chanted several thousand protesters gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square to mark the anniversary of Hrant Dink's killing, with questions still lingering about the circumstances of his death.

Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday the country was ready to discuss all issues with the European Union at high-profile talks this week, including a row over judicial independence that has escalated the crisis engulfing the government.

The controversy over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid to increase his control over Turkey's top judicial oversight body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), has dealt a new blow to the country's long-held goal of EU membership just as Erdogan prepares for a crunch day of talks in Brussels on Tuesday.

Turkish authorities have seized the assets of the main opposition candidate for the post of Istanbul mayor in the run-up to local polls in March, media reports said Saturday.

Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund announced the decision Friday after Mustafa Sarigul and nine other people failed to repay a loan worth $3.5 million (2.6 million euros) dating back to 1998, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday rejected allegations that his son was involved in the vast corruption scandal that has targeted some of his closest allies.

"Recently, there have been smear campaigns by the main opposition against my children," the embattled premier said.

Turkish authorities removed several prosecutors from key posts on Thursday in the latest fallout from the high-level corruption scandal plaguing the government.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which is headed by Turkey's justice minister, said that 20 prosecutors were being reassigned including the chief Istanbul prosecutor Turhan Colakkadi.

Thirteen al-Qaida suspects including two reported senior operatives appeared before Turkish prosecutors on Thursday after being arrested by anti-terror police this week.

They were among a total of 25 people detained Tuesday in police raids in six cities targeting al-Qaida in Turkey and a government-linked Islamic charity.

Turkey's main opposition party on Thursday rejected new government proposals aimed at ending a standoff over its bid to tighten controls on the judiciary.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) dismissed a new proposal by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as "insincere" as it had yet to withdraw a contentious bill on the issue.

Turkey's spy agency has denied it was involved in the killings of three female Kurdish rebels in Paris a year ago but has launched an internal probe into the case.

A Turkish national has been charged in France over the triple murder but the motive remains unknown. Turkey has suggested the killings were the result of an internal feud in the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) over the peace process.

A women's rights group sounded the alarm on Wednesday about the prevalence of child brides in mostly Kurdish areas of eastern Turkey, saying hundreds of marriages involved girls under 15.

The report by the Women's Center (KAMER) was published just days after the apparent suicide of a 14-year-old mother of two hit the headlines in Turkey, highlighting the plight of young brides.