Iranian forces enter Iraq to pummel Kurdish guerrillas
11h32 - BAGHDAD, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - Baghdad on Sunday accused Iranian forces of entering Iraqi territory and shelling Turkish-Kurdish PKK guerrilla positions, with the Kurds accusing Tehran of working with Ankara to attack their movement.

Iranian forces enter Iraq, shell Kurdish guerrillas
10h14 - BAGHDAD, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - Baghdad on Sunday accused Iranian forces of having over the last 24 hours entered Iraqi territory and shelled Kurdish PKK guerrillas in the northern Arbil province.

Iran shells Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq
09h45 - BAGHDAD, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian forces have shelled Kurdish PKK guerrilla positions in northern Kurdistan's Arbil province over the last 24 hours, the Iraqi government said in a statement on Sunday.

'Don't attack us or else,' Kurdish guerrillas warn Iran
01h56 - ANZI, Iraq, April 30, 2006 (AFP) - While Turkish Kurdish guerrillas based in northeast Iraq continue to wrestle their foes in Turkey, tensions have been brewing with neighbouring Iran.

175 charged in Turkey's Kurdish riots
11h29 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 28, 2006 (AFP) - Prosecutors in Diyarbakir in the restless Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey have charged 175 people with involvement in violent clashes last month, court sources said Friday.

Turkey hits out at Iraq over Kurdish rebels
16h07 - ANKARA, April 27, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey said Thursday neighboring Iraq should be pleased with Turkish military reinforcements at their border because Baghdad was unable on its own to tackle Kurdish rebels based on its territory.

Two soldiers killed in Kurdish rebel attack on Turkish military post
06h40 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 27, 2006 (AFP) - Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in an armed attack by Kurdish rebels on a paramilitary troop station in eastern Turkey, local security sources here said Thursday.

Iraq seeks clarification on Turkish military build-up
15h37 - ANKARA, April 27, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq handed a note to Turkey on Wednesday seeking information on a recent Turkish military build-up on the Iraqi border, officials here said.

Three Kurds, one soldier killed in southeast Turkey
07h41 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 24, 2006 (AFP) - Three Kurdish rebels and one Turkish soldier were killed at the weekend in clashes in a mountainous zone of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, authorities announced Monday.

Turkish army chief defends military buildup against Kurdish rebels
19h25 - ANKARA, April 23, 2006 (AFP) - The head of the Turkish army on Sunday defended a military build-up in the country's restive southeast as a normal and necessary step against mounting violence from armed Kurdish rebels.

Talabani defends Kurdish peshmerga militia
10h54 - BAGHDAD, April 23, 2006 (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Sunday defended the Kurdish peshmerga militia, insisting they were a "regulated force".

Kurdish rebel Talabani wins second term as Iraqi president
15h08 - BAGHDAD, April 22, 2006 (AFP) - Jalal Talabani, the first Kurdish president in Iraq's history, was reelected Saturday, cementing his people's powerful role on the national stage after suffering years as second-class citizens.

Kurdish rebels claim Turkey preparing for incursion into Iraq
14h54 - ANKARA, April 22, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's main armed Kurdish rebel group alleged on Saturday that the army was preparing for an incursion into neighbouring Iraq to hunt down its militants, and warned that Ankara would suffer from such a move.

Bombs rock southeastern Turkey, no casualties
09h26 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 22, 2006 (AFP) - Two homemade bombs exploded in the mainly Kurdish city of Batman in southeastern Turkey overnight, causing material damage but no casualties, local security sources said Saturday.

Bomb explodes in western Turkey, no casualties
12h47 - ANKARA, April 21, 2006 (AFP) - A bomb exploded in a garbage container in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Friday just seconds before the arrival of a military bus, but there were no casualties, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkey reinforces troops in southeast against Kurdish rebels
11h36 - DIYARBAKIR, April 21, 2006 (AFP) - The Turkish army has deployed thousands of troops to the country's southeastern corner, preparing to intensify operations against separatist Kurdish rebels who have stepped up violence in the region, the press quoted officials as saying Friday.

Turkish prosecutor sacked after accusations against general
14h08 - ANKARA, April 20, 2006 (AFP) - A Turkish prosecutor who called for a top general to be investigated for alleged illegal actions in the fight against Kurdish rebels was sacked Thursday for misconduct, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Prosecutors opppose retrial of Kurdish rebel leader
13h53 - ANKARA, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish prosecutors say they cannot retry Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, serving a life sentence since 1999, under current law regardless of a European court finding that he was unjustly condemned, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

Iraq cancels parliament session: Kurdish MP
11h39 - BAGHDAD, April 20, 2006 (AFP) - Iraqi leaders on Thursday decided to cancel a much-awaited parliament session for the second time in a week, Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman told AFP.

Iraqi parliament aims to break political deadlock
05h51 - BAGHDAD, April 20, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq's parliament was to meet Thursday for only the second time since it was elected in December as a top Sunni politician warned that the minority blocs in the assembly could join hands to form the next government.

Iran police kill two Kurd rebels
14h43 - TEHRAN, April 19, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian police have killed two members of a banned Kurdish rebel group operating close to the border with Turkey, state television reported Wednesday.

Turkey seeks to extend, toughen anti-terror law
09h09 - ANKARA, April 19, 2006 (AFP) - The Turkish government submitted a bill to parliament late Tuesday toughening and extending the scope of an existing anti-terror law as a bloody Kurdish rebellion intensified in the country's southeast, parliamentary sources said Wednesday.

Three Kurdish rebels, soldier killed in fresh Turkey clashes
17h59 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 18, 2006 (AFP) - Three Kurdish rebels and a soldier were killed in clashes in southeast Turkey, officials said Tuesday, in the latest episode of mounting violence in the mainly Kurdish region.

Twelve Kurdish rebels, two soldiers killed in southeast Turkey
07h39 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 12, 2006 (AFP) - Twelve separatist Kurdish rebels and two Turkish soldiers were killed in fighting in a mountainous corner of the country's southeast, security officials said Wednesday.

Soldier killed, teenagers injured in mine blasts in southeast Turkey
17h24 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 11, 2006 (AFP) - A Turkish soldier was killed in a landmine blast blamed on Kurdish rebels in the southeast of the country while six teenage boys were injured in another landmine explosion, security officials said Tuesday.

Soldier killed in mine blast blamed on Kurdish rebels
07h49 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 11, 2006 (AFP) - A Turkish soldier was killed and another injured when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated a landmine by remote control, security officials said Tuesday.

Iraqi PM's future in doubt after Kurdish-Sunni veto
18h28 - BAGHDAD, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Sunni Arab, Kurdish and secularist leaders Monday emphatically rejected Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari staying on in his post, possibly sealing the embattled Shiite premier's political fate.

Police defuse bomb aimed at judges in Istanbul: report
15h53 - ISTANBUL, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Police defused a home-made bomb found on a bus carrying judges and prosecutors to work here on Monday and suspect Kurdish rebels to be behind the failed attack, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkish military issues moderate message to Kurds after riots
15h31 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's top military official on Monday delivered a warmly worded message for the people of Diyarbakir to distance themselves from separatist Kurdish rebels as he visited the southeastern Turkish city rocked by deadly riots two weeks ago.

Thousands condemn Kurdish nationalism at military funeral
14h20 - ANKARA, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's political leaders and senior generals joined a crowd of about 10,000 here Monday for the funeral of a high-ranking officer killed in violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country.

Suspected Kurdish held in Germany over firebombings
13h03 - KARLSRUHE, Germany, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - A Turkish woman of Kurdish origin has been arrested in Germany and accused of carrying out seven firebombings for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), federal prosecutors said Monday.

Iraqi PM's future in doubt after Kurdish, Sunni veto
08h32 - BAGHDAD, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Iraqi Sunni and Kurdish leaders Monday emphatically rejected Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari staying on in the next government, possibly sealing the embattled Shiite premier's political fate.

Iran arrests seven Kurdish rebels
07h30 - TEHRAN, April 10, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian police have arrested seven members of a banned Kurdish rebel group operating close to the Islamic republic's border with Turkey, a press report said Monday.

Iraq PM's future on the line amid anniversary bloodshed
19h35 - BAGHDAD, April 9, 2006 (AFP) - The future of Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari hung in the balance on Sunday as deadly violence flared on the third anniversary of Saddam Hussein's ouster, adding to mounting concerns that the country was in the throes of civil war.

Kurds reject Jaafari as Iraq PM
19h14 - BAGHDAD, April 9, 2006 (AFP) - Kurdish political leaders in Iraq on Sunday rejected incumbent Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari staying on in the post, one of their negotiators said.

Kurdish activist, taxi driver jailed in Syria: lawyer
12h51 - DAMASCUS, April 9, 2006 (AFP) - Syria's state security court on Sunday sentenced one Kurdish political activist and one Syrian taxi driver to two-and-a-half years each in prison, human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni told AFP.

Turkish violence continues, nine more die
21h45 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 8, 2006 (AFP) - The violent clashes between the Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants continued unabated on Saturday, causing deaths on both sides and sparking a short-lived hostage taking in Istanbul.

Army kills seven Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey, two police die
18h20 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 8, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish security forces have killed seven Kurdish rebels in the past 24 hours in the southeast of the country, local security sources and a news agency said Saturday.

Army kills six Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey
09h06 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 8, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish security forces on Friday killed six Kurdish rebels suspected of involvement in the deaths of five soldiers, local security sources said Saturday.

Blast injures three in southeastern Turkey
16h15 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 7, 2006 (AFP) - Three people were injured in a suspected bomb explosion Friday in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir, security sources said.

Istanbul police detain would-be bombers, seize explosives
13h48 - ISTANBUL, April 7, 2006 (AFP) - Istanbul police Friday rounded up 11 suspected Kurdish militants and seized nearly eight kilograms (17.5 pounds) of explosives believed to have been destined for bomb attacks in Istanbul, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Demo held in Iraqi Kurdistan for Kurds in Turkey
17h11 - ARBIL, Iraq, April 6, 2006 (AFP) - Hundreds of sympathisers of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey protested Thursday in northern Iraq against killings by Turkish security forces during clashes with Kurds last week.

Turkey rejects criticism over police conduct in Kurdish riots
15h22 - ANKARA, April 6, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan angrily rejected criticism Thursday that an excessive use of force was to blame for the loss of life during Kurdish riots last week.

Turkish PM rejects criticism over police conduct in Kurdish riots
11h23 - ANKARA, April 6, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan angrily rejected criticism Thursday that an excessive use of force was to blame for the loss of life during Kurdish riots last week.

Six killed as violence plagues Turkey
20h13 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Separatist Kurdish rebels killed five soldiers and a policeman in Turkey's southeast, officials said Wednesday, as violence continued to plague the country in the wake of deadly Kurdish riots.

Kurdish militants claim bombing of Turkey's ruling party office
18h59 - ISTANBUL, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Radical Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for a bomb attack Wednesday against an office of Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul.

Five soldiers, policeman killed in Kurdish rebel attacks
13h24 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Separatist Kurdish rebels killed five soldiers and a policeman in Turkey's southeast in the wake of deadly Kurdish riots in the region, officials said Wednesday.

Prosecutors opppose retrial of Kurdish rebel leader
13h15 - ANKARA, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish prosecutors say they cannot retry Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, serving a life sentence since 1999, under current law regardless of a European court finding that he was unjustly condemned, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

Bloody riots put Turkey's main Kurdish party in the hot seat
12h45 - ANKARA, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - A week of deadly ethnic riots has further restricted the manoeuvering room of Turkey's main Kurdish party, accused of collaborating with an armed separatist rebellion, experts said Wednesday.

Three soldiers, policeman killed in Kurdish rebel attacks
11h01 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Separatist Kurdish rebels killed at least three soldiers and a policeman in Turkey's southeast during deadly Kurdish riots, media reports and hospital sources said Wednesday.

Turkish policemen killed in Kurdish rebel attack
08h22 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - A policemen died in hospital from injuries sustained in an armed attack by Kurdish rebels in the southeast of the country, hospital sources here said Wednesday.

Turkey seizes explosives used by Kurdish militants
06h43 - ISTANBUL, April 5, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish security forces have seized ten kilos (22 pounds) of plastic explosives, mainly used by Kurdish militants, in the country's biggest city Istanbul, local officials said Wednesday.

Iraq sentences 12 Ansar al-Islam members to death
17h14 - ARBIL, Iraq, April 4, 2006 (AFP) - A court in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region Tuesday sentenced to death 12 members of militant group Ansar Al-Islam for numerous killings and explosions, an Arbil judiciary official said.

Death toll in Turkey's Kurdish riots rises to 15
10h08 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 3, 2006 (AFP) - The death toll from a week of violent clashes between Kurdish protestors and Turkish police rose to 15 Monday when two more people died from their injuries, an official said.

Kurdish group threatens Turkey's tourist areas
08h43 - ANKARA, April 3, 2006 (AFP) - An armed Kurdish rebel group that has claimed several deadly bomb attacks in Turkey in the past threatened Monday to hit tourist targets across the country.

Death toll in Turkey's Kurdish riots climbs to 13
08h34 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 3, 2006 (AFP) - A week of violent clashes between Kurdish protestors and police in southeastern Turkey has spread to Istanbul and left 13 dead nationwide, a senior official said Monday.

Four reported dead in fresh Kurdish riots in Turkey
22h58 - ISTANBUL, April 3, 2006 (AFP) - A molotov cocktail attack set ablaze a bus in Istanbul late Sunday, resulting in three deaths, as Kurdish riots rattling southeast Turkey for six days spead to the west, the CNN Turk news channel reported.

Three reported dead as molotov cocktail burns bus in Istanbul
22h43 - ISTANBUL, April 3, 2006 (AFP) - A molotov cocktail attack set ablaze a bus in Istanbul late Sunday, resulting in three deaths, in the sixth day of Kurdish riots in Turkey, the CNN Turk news channel reported.

Kurdish riots claim two more lives in Turkey
20h34 - ISTANBUL, April 2, 2006 (AFP) - Two more people were reported dead Sunday in a sixth day of Kurdish riots in Turkey, bringing the death toll to 10, as the violence spread from the southeast to the country's biggest city Istanbul.

Week of violence revives fears of ethnic conflict in Turkey
16h18 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 2, 2006 (AFP) - A ninth person was reported to have died Sunday in the violence that has flared in southeast Turkey for the past week in the most serious urban disturbances to hit the region in a decade.

Kurdish leader urges end of riots, calls on Ankara for reform
10h20 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 2, 2006 (AFP) - The leader of Turkey's main Kurdish party urged Sunday an end to deadly Kurdish riots in the southeast and called on Ankara to come up with far-reaching reforms to make permanent peace with its largest minority.

No going back from democracy, governor says after Kurdish riots
08h32 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 2, 2006 (AFP) - The governor of this southeastern Turkish city, at the center of deadly Kurdish riots this week, has said that only more democracy will erode Kurdish separatism and militancy in the region.

Week of violence in southeast revives fears of ethnic conflict in Turkey
01h57 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 2, 2006 (AFP) - Ethnic riots in southeast Turkey this week left eight dead and 250 wounded in the worst urban violence to hit the region in a decade, reviving bitter memories of the heyday of the Kurdish rebellion that has claimed more than 37,000 lives so far.

One killed as Kurdish protestors rampage for fifth day in Turkey
15h36 - KIZILTEPE, Turkey, April 1, 2006 (AFP) - The death toll from a week of violent street clashes between Kurdish youths and security forces in Turkey rose to eight Saturday with fresh riots near the Syrian border.

Evidence against Saddam for killing Kurds ready: prosecutor
13h58 - BAGHDAD, April 1, 2006 (AFP) - The chief prosecutor in the Saddam Hussein trial said on Saturday that documents depicting the ex-president's role in the killings of around 180,000 people, mostly Kurds, in the Anfal campaign were ready.

Kurdish protestors rampage for fifth day in Turkey
13h23 - KIZILTEPE, Turkey, April 1, 2006 (AFP) - Kurdish protestors went on the rampage in southeastern Turkey on Saturday in the fifth day of deadly street clashes with security forces that have raised fears of new ethnic bloodshed.

Toddler killed in southeast Turkey, bomb in Istanbul
20h01 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 31, 2006 (AFP) - A stray bullet killed a toddler Friday as Kurdish protesters battled security forces in southeastern Turkey, a hospital said, raising the death toll this week to seven.

Turkey calls for closure of Denmark-based Kurdish TV channel
18h54 - ANKARA, March 31, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey Friday repeated its call for Denmark to close down a Danish-based Kurdish television channel which it considers a mouthpiece for violent Kurdish separatists.