US ponders ways to curb Turkish Kurd rebels in Iraq: envoy
17h26 - ANKARA, Jan 30, 2007 (AFP) - The United States is considering "many actions" to curb Turkish Kurd rebels based in northern Iraq and believes it can count on the help of the region's Iraqi Kurdish leaders, a US envoy said here Tuesday. Joseph W. Ralston, special coordinator of efforts against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), made the comment after talks with Turkish officials amid growing anger here over Washington's failure to fulfil pledges to move against the group, listed as a terrorist group by both countries.

US envoy in Turkey for talks on Iraq-based Kurdish rebels
14h22 - ANKARA, Jan 30, 2007 (AFP) - A US special envoy began talks with Turkish officials Tuesday on how to combat separatist Kurds based in neighbouring northern Iraq, amid growing anger here over Washington's failure to fulfill its pledges to curb the militants.

11 Shiite Kurd pilgrims killed in Iraq blast
09h17 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Jan 30, 2007 (AFP) - Eleven Kurdish Shiite pilgrims were killed Tuesday when a bomb stashed in a bin exploded as they were heading to a religious site in eastern Iraq for the Ashura mourning rite, police said.

Iraq trial shown evidence of Kurd detention camps
17h05 - BAGHDAD, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) - Prosecutors on Monday presented the Iraqi court trying six former regime officials with evidence of detention camps set up allegedly to torture thousands of Kurds during a military campaign in 1988.

'No regrets' Chemical Ali tells genocide trial
15h34 - BAGHDAD, Jan 28, 2007 (AFP) - "Chemical Ali", a cousin of Saddam Hussein and lead defendant in the genocide trial of six former regime officials, on Sunday defended having ordered a military campaign against Iraqi Kurdish villagers.

Prosecutor links Saddam's cousin to 'chemical strikes'
14h23 - BAGHDAD, Jan 28, 2007 (AFP) - An Iraqi prosecutor Sunday presented what he said was documentary proof executed dictator Saddam Hussein's cousin was linked to "chemical strikes" in Iraqi Kurdistan and had ordered dozens of villages demolished.

Nine Islamists released in Iraqi Kurdistan
11h21 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) - Security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan have released nine out of a group of 15 local Islamists arrested a month ago for alleged links with Sunni insurgents, a security official said Wednesday.

'Chemical Ali' defiant as Iraq genocide trial resumes
17h25 - BAGHDAD, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" on Tuesday told an Iraqi court that his anti-Kurdish outbursts during a 1988 military campaign were tactics aimed at intimidating Kurdish guerrillas.

Iraqi oil law not yet agreed, Kurds say
00h53 - LONDON, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) - A new oil law in Iraq that was announced as headed to cabinet for endorsement last week has not yet been agreed and there is still much that needs to be resolved, a minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government said in an interview published in the Financial Times on Tuesday.

Iraq's Sadr group ends political boycott
13h21 - BAGHDAD, Jan 21, 2007 (AFP) - The political group of radical anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced Sunday it has ended a two-month boycott of the Iraqi government in a boost for embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Turkey asserts say over northern Iraq
19h01 - ANKARA, Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) - Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Thursday that Turkey cannot remain indifferent to the welfare of the Turkmens in northern Iraq, an ethnic community of Turkish descent which claims oppression by Kurds controlling the region.

US seeks to soothe Turkish anger over rebel haven in Iraq
18h07 - ANKARA, Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) - A senior US official promised here Thursday "serious efforts" to curb Turkish Kurd rebels based in northern Iraq, an issue that has long poisoned US ties with Turkey.

Kurds can appeal PKK's inclusion on EU terror list: court
12h48 - LUXEMBOURG, Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) - Europe's top court ruled Thursday that the now defunct Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) can appeal against its inclusion on the European Union's terror blacklist in 2002.

Kurdish rebel leader seeks commission for peace with Turkey
11h00 - ANKARA, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) - Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has asked for an independent commission to look into the bloody 22-year conflict with Turkey to pave the way for a reconciliation, the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency reported Wednesday.

Iranian detained in Iraq tied to Vienna murders: report
06h43 - VIENNA, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) - One of five Iranians arrested by US forces in Iraq last week is the suspected leader of a commando team that assassinated three Iranian Kurds in Vienna in 1989, Austrian public radio has reported.

'Chemical Ali' confesses execution orders in Iraq genocide trial
18h23 - BAGHDAD, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" told Iraq's genocide trial Thursday that he ordered troops to execute villagers who refused to leave their homes during a brutal anti-Kurdish operation.

US arrests five in Iran consulate raid in Iraq
16h59 - ARBIL, Iraq, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - US troops raided an Iranian consulate in Iraq on Thursday and arrested six employees, as Washington vowed to crack down on purported Iranian aggression in the war-torn country.

Iraq Kurds condemn US raid on Iranian consulate
16h16 - ARBIL, Iraq, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - The Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq condemned Thursday a US raid on the Iranian consulate in its capital and demanded the immediate release of all the prisoners taken.

Turkey welcomes Bush's Iraq plan, pledge over Kurd rebels
16h13 - ANKARA, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey Thursday welcomed US President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq and hailed Washington's declared commitment to help curb Turkish Kurd rebels based in its turbulent southern neighbor.

'Chemical Ali' takes Saddam's hot seat in Iraq trial
14h02 - BAGHDAD, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" moved centre stage in Iraq's genocide trial Thursday, occupying the executed dictator's chair in court and confessing that he ordered thousands of Kurds to be forced out of their homes.

'Chemical Ali' moves into Saddam's hot seat in Iraq trial
09h24 - BAGHDAD, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" moved centre stage in Iraq's genocide trial on Thursday, sliding into the hot seat left vacant by the former dictator who was executed last month.

Turkey sees 'dangerous developments' after Saddam hanging
11h08 - ANKARA, Jan 9, 2007 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday of "very dangerous developments" in the region if Iraqis fail to avoid "a blood feud" after Saddam Hussein's hanging and reconcile on the status of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Shadow of hanged Saddam looms large over genocide trial
15h19 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - The shadow of Saddam Hussein loomed large over the genocide trial of six former Iraqi regime officials when it resumed Monday, with the executed former dictator's chair conspicuously empty and his purported voice being heard on an audio tape.

Kurd trial hears 'Saddam' approving gas attacks
12h42 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - Saddam Hussein okayed the use of chemical weapons on crowds of Kurds in the 1980s, prosecutors claimed Monday, producing an audio tape purportedly containing the voice of the executed dictator.

Kurdish troops 'to boost security in Baghdad'
12h38 - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - Three Kurdish brigades from the Iraqi defence ministry will be sent to Baghdad as part of the revised security plan aimed at restoring stability there, a top Kurdish official said Monday.

Iraq trial sees video of Ali 'planning chemical attacks'
10h40 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - The prosecutor at the genocide trial of six former Iraqi regime officials played video footage on Monday it said showed key accused Ali Hassan al-Majid threatening to bomb the Kurds using chemical weapons.

Charges against Saddam dropped as genocide trial resumes
09h32 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - The trial of six former Iraqi officials over the mass killing of 182,000 Kurdish villagers in the 1980s resumed Monday but without their executed co-accused Saddam Hussein.

Kurd genocide trial resumes as charges against Saddam dropped
09h01 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - The trial of six former Iraqi officials over the mass killing of 182,000 Kurdish villagers in the 1980s resumed Monday but without their executed co-accused Saddam Hussein.

Kurd genocide trial to resume without Saddam
06h54 - BAGHDAD, Jan 8, 2007 (AFP) - The trial of six former Iraqi officials over the mass killing of 182,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s resumes Monday but without their executed co-accused Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi Kurd genocide trial resumes, without Saddam
01h47 - BAGHDAD, Jan 7, 2007 (AFP) - Proceedings resume Monday in the trial of six former Iraqi officials charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the mass killing of 182,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s -- minus their executed co-accused Saddam Hussein.