Turkey PM Erdogan's Cancer Fear: 'God Only Knows'

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed rumours that he was suffering from terminal colon cancer and had two year to live, Reuters reported.

A leaked email from intelligence security company Stratfor included a report from a former NSC (National Security Council) official that said Erdogan, 58, underwent a "really significant operation" to remove a colon cancer and that he was "not going to be able to travel for a while". The source was also quoted as saying that "the prognosis is not looking good" and that doctors "were estimating 2 years for him".

Talking to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan attacked those behind the report.

"It is just God and only God who knows how long each of us will live," he said. "When the time of death comes, you cannot move it back or forth by an hour."

"Those who fall for rumours and calculate the time we have left in this world are not only impudent but in a state of insolence."

Speculations around Erdogan's health have mounted since the Turkish media revealed in February that the Islamist moderate leader had had stomach surgery. Doctors removed polyps from his intestines but found no traces of cancer. He first underwent stomach surgery in November to remove tissue growths from his bowel, followed by a second minor operation in February.