Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday expressed fury at the surprise resignation of his influential spy chief and said his arch enemy, the U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, had wreaked more havoc on the country than Kurdish militants.

The head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) Hakan Fidan resigned at the weekend to stand for parliament, with Erdogan then stunning commentators by saying he did not approve of the move.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he was unhappy with the decision by powerful intelligence chief Hakan Fidan to resign from his post and stand for parliament in June elections.

"I do not view Hakan Fidan's candidacy positively," Erdogan said in televised comments at Istanbul airport before heading on a visit to Latin America.

Turkish police on Sunday launched a new wave of raids seeking to arrest suspects accused of wiretapping the communications of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials.

Istanbul prosecutors issued warrants for 21 police officers, the official Anatolia news agency said. 

The powerful head of Turkey's intelligence agency, one of the most loyal allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has resigned to stand for election as a lawmaker, the official Anatolia news agency said Saturday.

The resignation of Hakan Fidan, who has headed the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) since 2010, has been accepted by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and will take effect on Tuesday, it added.

Turkey on Thursday made a new call for Washington to extradite the U.S.-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, as Ankara steps up its campaign against the number one enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Erdogan accuses Gulen and his supporters of using influence within the judiciary, police and state bureaucracy to plot against the government. 

Turkey's leaders are taking the country on a path towards totalitarianism, U.S.-based preacher and arch-enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Fethullah Gulen, wrote in an article published Tuesday.

Gulen, who rarely makes comments in public, accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of a clampdown on civil society in an opinion piece published in the New York Times.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed to eradicate "cancer cells" in the judiciary, launching a new attack against the supporters of his rival, U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gulen.

Erdogan accuses Gulen's powerful movement of being behind a sweeping corruption probe that rocked his government in December 2013 while he was prime minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brushed off criticism that he's trying to amass sultan-like powers, saying he really just wants to be more like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

Erdogan told state-run TRT channel on Thursday that his desire for an expanded presidential role would not undermine democracy -- and he pointed to the UK as an example. 

Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained at least 26 police in the latest nationwide swoop over the alleged wiretapping of top officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media said. 

Police conducted raids in the western city of Izmir and 12 other provinces and detained suspects, including high-ranking officers, accused of wiretapping key figures including businessmen, academics and government officials, Anatolia news agency reported. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country opposes the idea of a Kurdish-controlled autonomous government in northern Syria, local media reported on Tuesday.

"We do not want a new Iraq. What's this? Northern Iraq," Erdogan told the Hurriyet newspaper aboard a plane en route from an African tour at the weekend. He was referring to the Kurdish-controlled part of Iraq known as Iraqi Kurdistan.