ANKARA: Turkey’s top general said the withdrawal of troops from northern Iraq was not based on political concerns, but analysts on Saturday questioned whether US pressure had accelerated the end of a ground offensive against Kurdish rebels.

In a decision that surprised many, the Turkish army on Friday announced that it had ended a week-long operation to hunt Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels in the autonomous north of Iraq, pulling its forces out in the early hours of the day.

The withdrawal came a day after US President George Bush urged Turkey to end the incursion “as quickly as possible” and visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates personally put pressure on Turkish leaders during talks in Ankara.

“What happened at the last minute?” asked the popular Aksam daily, recalling Ankara’s refusal to set a timetable for a pull-out and assertions to Gates that Turkish forces would stay in Iraq as long as necessary.

“Bush told us to leave and we did. One could not vacate his hotel room so quickly, in such panic,” commentator Yilmaz Ozdil wrote in the mass-circulation Hurriyet daily.

The popular Vatan newspaper went so far as to call the withdrawal “degrading” in its editorial.

In an interview published in the popular Milliyet daily, the head of the Turkish general staff denied the “unfair” criticism. He said the withdrawal had begun long before Gates’ visit, but had not been announced for tactical reasons.

“This was a decision taken on military reasons altogether. There was not even a hint from politicians or foreigners to withdraw,” General Yasar Buyukanit said.

“One third of our forces were inside Turkey on Wednesday, but it would have been murder to announce the withdrawal then.

“When you say your forces are withdrawing, it amounts to telling terrorists to set up an ambush. That would be an enormous mistake,” he said.

But many here remain unconvinced.

Skeptics noted that a first text of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s monthly television address, distributed on Friday but embargoed until the evening, said the operation was continuing even after Baghdad had confirmed the pullout.

A few hours later, his office distributed a second text of the speech that mentioned the withdrawal.

The abrupt end to the operation is a major setback for the government and the army that could have consequences in its struggle against the PKK which has waged a 23-year bloody separatist campaign, Vatan claimed.

“The unexpected withdrawal could embolden” the PKK which has been waging a bloody campaign for self-rule in Turkey’s Kurdish-populated southeast since 1984, it said.

Some analysts suggested that the United States’ image in the eyes of the Turkish public opinion could take a turn for the worse, hitting bilateral ties.

The Turkish government has long complained of US failure to tackle PKK rebels based in the north of Iraq. In October, it secured parliamentary approval to send troops across the border against the PKK.

In November, the US pledged to provide Nato ally Turkey with real-time intelligence on rebel movements, allowing for Turkey to take action against an estimated 4,000 militants holed up in mountainous northern Iraq.

Following two months of air strikes on rebel positions, Turkish soldiers stormed across the border on Feb 21 in a ground offensive that was praised by almost all the press.

Even though Washington appeared to be on Ankara’s side, it was concerned that the incursion could spill into a wider conflict between Turkish forces and the Iraqi Kurds, its staunch supporters in Iraq.

Turkey has long accused Iraqi Kurds of providing the PKK with a safe haven and weapons.

“The US was left between its two allies...When it saw that its own interests were under risk, it told Turkey to leave,” Milliyet said.

“I hope this will not result in Turkey being prevented from launching another incursion if need be,” it added.—AFP