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Turkish incursion 'too long': Iraq FM

BAGHDAD, Feb 29, 2008 (AFP) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Friday said the Turkish incursion in northern Iraq has been going on for "too long" and must end soon.

"It is supposed to end as it is going on for too long," Zebari told AFP.

"We have demanded strongly to end the incursion."

Turkish troops launched a ground offensive inside northern Iraq on February 21 targeting Kurdish rebels who have hideouts in the mountainous terrain.

Turkish officials have refused to give a clear timetable as to when the incursion, the second within three months, would end.

The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been fighting Ankara for a self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984.