TURKISH TROOPS WRAP UP CROSS-BORDER OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRAQ

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.02.2008 15:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Army has ended a major ground offensive
against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, the General Staff said on
Friday. The operation was completed in Zap region where the hostilities
were held.

Turkey launched a large-scale ground operation targeting militants from
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the north of Iraq on February 21,
with more than 10,000 troops pushing some 10 kilometers (six miles)
into Iraq.

"Turkish Army units returned to their permanent bases on the morning
of February 29," the General Staff said in a statement posted on
its website.

It also said Turkey had taken the decision to start and end the
operation independently, without any outside pressure. It added that
the Turkish Army had killed 240 rebels during the eight-day operation
and had lost 27 servicemen.

The General Staff acknowledged that the PKK had not been eliminated
as a result of the operation, however.

"At the same time, it has been shown to the group that the north of
Iraq is not a safe heaven for terrorists," it said.

The General Staff also pledged it would continue monitoring PKK
activity in Iraq and would "not allow it to threaten Turkey from
this area."

"The fight against terrorism will continue both in and outside Turkey,"
it said.

Iraq welcomed the end of the Turkish operation, Iraqi Foreign Minister
Hoshiyar Zebari saying it was the "right thing to do." Iraq had earlier
criticized the incursion, calling it a violation of its sovereignty.

The Turkish parliament gave the government a mandate last October to
conduct cross-border operations in northern Iraq against about 3,500
PKK militants based in the region.

The PKK, listed by the U.S., NATO and the EU as a terrorist
organization, has been fighting for autonomy status in southeast
Turkey for nearly 25 years. The conflict has so far claimed about
40,000 lives, RIA Novosti reports.