Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 11:09 AFP — Any Turkish army operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq are likely to be low-level raids yielding more psychological benefits than military ones, analysts here agreed Thursday.

Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 10:55 AFP — Turkey wants to give diplomacy a chance in its escalating crisis with Iraq-based Kurdish rebels but insists on its right to fight "terrorism," Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Thursday.

Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 10:14 AFP — Turkey has strengthened its hand against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq by securing parliamentary approval for cross-border military action, but the government faced calls Thursday to avoid action that causes international reprobation.

Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 09:21 AFP — Wrapped in the red, white and green Kurdish flags that are banned in Turkey, several thousand Iraqi Kurds took to the streets of Arbil on Thursday to protest the threat of a Turkish incursion.

Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 07:26 AFP — Iraq's regional Kurdish government called Thursday for direct talks with Ankara after the Turkish parliament authorised a military incursion into their territory to crack down on rebel fighters.

Thursday, 18 October, 2007 , 01:42 AFP — Mixed Iraqi reactions to the threat of an incursion by Turkey have revealed the conflicting agendas of the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish administration in the north.

Wednesday, 17 October, 2007 , 20:02 AFP — The Turkish parliament Wednesday voted to allow military strikes against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, despite stiff US opposition and appeals from Baghdad for time to purge the rebels.

Wednesday, 17 October, 2007 , 15:44 AFP — Iraq's autonomous Kurdish government responded angrily Wednesday to a Turkish vote authorising a military incursion into its territory, saying such action would destabilise the region.

Wednesday, 17 October, 2007 , 15:22 AFP — President George W. Bush Wednesday strongly urged Turkey not to carry out cross-border strikes on Kurdish separatists in Iraq, even as the Turkish parliament voted to authorize such an incursion.

Wednesday, 17 October, 2007 , 15:07 AFP — The Turkish parliament voted Wednesday to allow the government to send troops to neighbouring northern Iraq to crack down on Turkish Kurdish rebels based there.