Turkish troops have begun withdrawing from northern Iraq on Friday, eight days after being sent there for a cross-border ground operation against the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, local NTV reported.
However, the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement on its website Friday that it would issue an extensive press release shortly regarding the breaking news appearing in the media that Turkish troops were pulling out from the north of Iraq.
NTV reported that dozens of trucks ferried troops in the Turkish border town of Cukurca back from combat in neighboring Iraq's north.
On Feb. 21, some 10,000 Turkish troops crossed the Iraqi border and rolled 10 km inside to crack down on PKK rebels, who have long taken refuge in the region and used it as a springboard for attacks across the border as part of their separatist campaign for self-rule in southeast Turkey.
The United States has been declining to condemn Turkish incursion into Iraq, saying that the outlawed PKK fighters are "a threat" to Turkey, Iraq and the United States.
U.S. pressure on Turkey to end the ground operation, however, mounted on Thursday when U.S. President George W. Bush said that Turkey should withdraw its troops from northern Iraq "as soon as possible."
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Bush said that Turkey's offensive against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq should be limited and should end as soon as possible.
"It should not be long-lasting," Bush said, "The Turks need to move, move quickly, achieve their objective and get out."
Hours before Bush's remarks, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said during a visit in Ankara that Turkey's cross-border ground operation against the PKK rebels should be short and precisely targeted as possible.
Iraq has also voiced its grave concern over Turkey's cross-border action, saying it is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
But Ankara on Thursday refused to commit itself to a pullout timetable.
Speaking at a joint press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara with Gates Thursday, Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that Turkish troops would remain in north of Iraq as long as necessary and they had no intention of staying in Iraq after the mission was accomplished.
The Turkish National Security Council also said that the cross-border operations against the PKK would continue as long as necessary,
The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.
Source: Xinhua
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