Turkey says military operation in Iraq might last a year

Turkey's military operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatists could finish in as short a time as one day or take up to year, Turkish Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukyanit said on Thursday.

On the sidelines of talks with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Ankara, NTV television said Buyukyanit repeated Turkey's promise that it will withdraw Turkish troops as soon as possible but refused to name an actual date.

"The shortest time is a relative concept. It may be one day or it might mean a year," Buyukyanit was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Gates said that Turkey should quickly wrap up its military incursion against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq.

In order to stop "terror," not just military but also economic and political initiatives must be made, he said.

Gates was quoted by CNN-Turk television as saying after talks with Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul that the Washington wanted the operation to be "short and precisely targeted."

Turkey has refused to give an exact date for the withdrawal of troops but has repeatedly said that the sole aim of the operation was Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) fighters based in northern Iraq. More