Turkish Prime Minister Blasts Corruption Investigation, Says He's the Ultimate Target

Claims investigators will leave empty handed

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in comments reported Thursday that he believes he is the ultimate target of a bribery and corruption investigation that has plunged his government into one of its worst crises since he came to power a decade ago.

Mr. Erdogan, in statements published in Hurriyet, a Turkish daily newspaper, said that those who tried to embroil him in the investigation would be "left empty-handed." He made the comments to reporters on a plane as he returned from a visit to Pakistan on Tuesday.