Turkish troops withdraw from Iraq

All Turkish troops involved in an offensive against Kurdish rebels inside northern Iraq have withdrawn back into Turkey, the Iraqi foreign minister said today.

"We welcome this, we think this is the right thing for Turkey to do," Hoshiyar Zebari said, adding that the withdrawal took place before dawn today.

A Turkish source said some troops had returned to bases in Turkey after completing their mission against Kurdish PKK rebels but that no full withdrawal had begun.

Mr Zebari, who is a Kurd, said Iraq was willing to work with Turkey to resolve the crisis over the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in mountainous parts of Iraq's largely autonomous region of Kurdistan.

Turkey sent thousands of troops into the remote region on February 21st to crush PKK rebels who use the area as a base for attacks on Turkish territory.