Turkey wraps up Iraq offensive
Foreign Desk Report

ANKARA—The Turkish army ended its week-old ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Friday, saying its forces had pulled out after achieving their objectives.
The withdrawal followed strong US pressure on its NATO ally to wrap up the incursion against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), launched late on February 21.
“The objectives set at the start of the operation have been achieved and our forces... returned to their home bases as of Friday morning,” a statement from the military general staff said. At least 240 PKK militants were killed and dozens of rebel hideouts, logistics bases and ammunition depots destroyed, it said, putting the army losses at 27 men.
The PKK “was shown that northern Iraq is not a safe region for them,” the statement said.
Television footage showed dozens of military trucks loaded with soldiers crossing into Turkey from the border town of Cukurca, while empty vehicles climbed mountainous roads in the opposition direction. US President George W. Bush had urged the Turkish army on Thursday to leave northern Iraq “as quickly as possible” and Defence Secretary Robert Gates personally put pressure on Turkish leaders during a series of meetings in Ankara.
The military, however, insisted the withdrawal decision was made “under no external or internal influence.” It said some forces had already returned home before Friday “in line with the original planning.” Turkey will continue to “closely watch” PKK activities in northern Iraq and “will not allow threats to Turkey from this region,” the statement said.
“The struggle against terrorism will be pursued with determination at home and abroad,” it said. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has waged an armed campaign for self-rule in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives. The United States, which also labels the PKK a terrorist group, supported its NATO ally during the incursion with intelligence on PKK movements.
But Washington had been concerned that a prolonged incursion could escalate into a broader conflict between Turkish forces and the Iraqi Kurds, who run the autonomous administration of northern Iraq and are staunch US supporters.
Turkey has long accused Iraqi Kurds of providing the PKK with safe haven and weapons, and warned them not to shelter rebels fleeing the fighting. The most intensive air raids and ground assaults during the incursion targetted the mountainous regions of Zap and Hakurk, near the Turkish border, where the PKK has some of its largest camps. The Qandil mountains further east along the Iraqi-Iranian border are also a major PKK stronghold. Turkish troops rolled into northern Iraq just over a week ago to crack down on an estimated 4,000 PKK rebels who use the region as a springboard for cross-border attacks as part of their separatist campaign.
The PKK has claimed to have killed around 100 soldiers, lost five and to have downed a Turkish attack helicopter during the incursion. Ankara had repeatedly refused to commit itself to a pullout timetable. Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said after talks with Gates on Thursday that Turkey would remain in northern Iraq “as long as necessary.”