Three people injured in ruling AKP building explosion in eastern Turkey

The explosion came a day before a planned visit by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to the Hakkari province.

The cause of the blast is not yet clear. Several ambulances were dispatched to the area while police cordoned off the blast site, Anatolian Agency reported.

The blast coincided with clashes between police and pro-Kurdish Democratic Society (DTP) supporters protesting a visit by Erdogan to the neighboring province of Van.

Fighting erupted in Van when the demonstrators, numbering a few hundred, refused orders to disperse, pelting officers with stones and Molotov cocktails and setting fire to seven vehicles, news agencies reported.

Police responded with tear gas and warning shots into the air.

A police officer and a civilian were injured in the scuffles, while several demonstrators were detained.Â

Tensions rose in the region after some deputies from the DTP claimed that Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the terror organization PKK, has been mistreated in Imrali prison, where he is serving a life sentence.

The government has denied the allegations.

Speaking to a large crowd just 150 meters from where the scuffles took place, Erdogan brushed aside the protests and pledged steps to increase the prosperity of the region with a government housing project.

The Turkish prime minister will leave the city later Saturday after talks with local officials, party members and non-governmental organizations.

Thousands of supporters of the DTP also staged a sit-in Saturday in Diyarbakir to denounce government policies in the region and the alleged mistreatment of Ocalan.

Police beefed up security measures around the square where the protest was held, but the situation was calm.