TURKEY:TURKEY'S MILITARY yesterday ended its incursion into northern Iraq, claiming it had achieved its objectives and rejecting suggestions that political pressure had forced it to bring its troops home early.
The withdrawal follows a ferocious eight-day assault on PKK separatist bases in the Iraqi mountains and will be greeted with relief in Washington.
US officials, led by President George Bush had become increasingly vocal in recent days in demanding a swift end to the operation amid fears that it could spark a wider conflict inside Iraq.
Announcing the end of the incursion, which involved ground troops and the airforce and was the biggest Turkish operation in Iraq for at least a decade, the general staff said: "It has been determined that the aims of the operation have been achieved." Troops returned to their bases yesterday morning, it said.
The timing of the pull-out, a day after Robert Gates, US defence secretary, visited Ankara to urge Turkey to leave quickly, caused surprise and prompted some angry speculation that it had been influenced by the US.
The military high command denied this charge, saying that the timing of the start and finish of the operation was determined by military needs and that "any internal or external influence is out of the question".
In a lengthy statement, the military said the incursion targeted a region of northern Iraq that was "the heart" of the PKK, killed 240 rebel fighters and destroyed much of the organisation's infrastructure. Some 27 Turkish military personnel were also killed. The PKK has disputed the casualty figures on its side and said it killed about 100 Turkish troops.
The Turkish government and the military had insisted the operation would target only the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that is branded a terrorist organisation by the US, the European Union and Turkey.