Turkey Says U.S. Main Loser in Iraq Arrests' Incident

[Nambe]

ANKARA (Reuters)

Turkey said on Tuesday the United States had been the biggest loser in a weekend incident involving the arrest of Turkish commandos in northern Iraq which has badly strained ties between the two NATO allies.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, speaking as Washington's top soldier in Europe flew into Ankara to mend fences, repeated Turkey's call for an apology for the three-day detention of the 11 special forces officers. The men were released on Sunday.

"It was the United States that lost in the Iraq incident, not Turkey," Gul told parliament, referring to the harm done to Washington's image in this traditionally pro-U.S. Muslim nation.

"This matter must be explained. Those who poison Turkish-U.S. relations must be given the necessary punishment. That is what we want," he said.

The arrests stunned Turkey, provoking calls for retaliation. Newspapers angrily described U.S. troops pulling hoods over the commandos' heads after being invited to drink tea with them. ---

Diplomatic sources in the Middle East said one of the Turks detained was a colonel whom U.S. or British forces had expelled from Iraq twice previously for "suspicious activities."

They said there was some evidence the soldiers were involved in a plot to kill the interim governor of Kirkuk.

Gul told parliament such claims were "rubbish." ---