Saturday, 1 March, 2008 , 16:17 AFP — The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader said Turkey had failed to achieve its aims with its military operation against his guerrillas in northern Iraq, in a telephone interview on Saturday.

Saturday, 1 March, 2008 , 12:27 AFP — Iraqi Kurdish villagers expressed joy at the end of Turkey's eight-day military operation inside northern Iraq on Saturday, but many said they were worried that Ankara's soldiers could return.

Saturday, 1 March, 2008 , 12:17 AFP — Turkey's top general said the withdrawal of troops from northern Iraq was not based on political concerns, but analysts on Saturday questioned whether US pressure had accelerated the end of a ground offensive against Kurdish rebels.

Saturday, 1 March, 2008 , 11:43 AFP — President Jalal Talabani on Saturday praised Ankara for ending its incursion against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, and said he is looking forward to accepting an invitation to visit Turkey.

Saturday, 1 March, 2008 , 09:14 AFP — Turkey's withdrawal from northern Iraq was based solely on military needs, the head of the army said in remarks published Saturday, dismissing "unfair" criticism that Ankara had bowed to US pressure.

Friday, 29 February, 2008 , 21:29 AFP — Turkish forces pulled out from northern Iraq Friday, ending a week-long offensive against Kurdish rebels that the United States feared could fuel a broader conflict in the region.

Friday, 29 February, 2008 , 20:07 AFP — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday urged Kurdish rebels to lay down their arms and said Ankara was "mature enough" to embrace "all kinds of political differences."

Friday, 29 February, 2008 , 19:55 AFP — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey and Iraq should not allow Kurdish separatists to "poison" bilateral ties and urged Baghdad to help purge the rebels from northern Iraq.

Friday, 29 February, 2008 , 19:29 AFP — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday urged separatist Kurdish rebels to lay down their arms and said the Turkish democracy was "mature enough" to resolve the Kurdish conflict.

Friday, 29 February, 2008 , 15:27 AFP — Iraq's presidency has endorsed the execution for genocide of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's enforcer known to the world as "Chemical Ali," for ordering gas attacks on Kurds in the 1980s, Iraqi and US officials said on Friday.