Text News

Commenting on the latest atrocities against the Kurds by the Arab terrorists in Kirkuk and Mosul, Barzani and Talabani warned that they will not stay silent while those crimes are unfolding daily

• Deployment of Kurdish Troops In Mosul Alarms Arabs

Now, with Mosul threatening to turn to chaos after most of the city's 4,000 police deserted, the Kurds are again proving staunch allies. "They're well-organised, fierce and get the job done," said Captain Robert Lackey, a company commander with the U.S. Stryker Brigade, which is responsible for northern Iraq. More

• News Snapshot

Talabani, Barzani and have revealed that they have reached an agreement with Iraqi political parties to postpone elections in Kirkuk which was planned to be held next January until the issue of Kurdish settlement resolved.

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Turkish FM Gul criticized Talabani and Barzani for their demand that local elections in Kirkuk be postponed until the issue of Kurdish settlement resolved. "They are not the ones who will decide. They might have some demands as Iraqi citizens; however, they cannot decide when elections will take place. There is a council in Iraq and it will decide on it. That the election is held on a designated date is crucial."

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Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan told US Vice President Cheney that the operation against terrorists in Falluja has caused outrage in Turkey and the Muslim world, reported Turkish Daily News yesterday.

Nov 21, 2004

• Election Setback

• Militants Try to Stir Arab-Kurd Violence

• Sunni Arabs Kill Two Kurds In Mosul

• The EU, Turkey and the Kurds - European Parliament Conference

Nov 19, 2004

• In Mosul, Kurdish Peshmarga Helps Keep Order

• In Mosul, Mortar Attacks Continue

Nov 18, 2004

• US And Kurds Attack insurgents In Mosul

American warplanes flew over Arab parts of the city, and some units of the American Task Force Olympia ventured out of their base on patrol. An insurgent unit crossed over to the mainly Kurdish west of Mosul and attacked offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Three of the four attackers were killed, and the fourth was wounded. More

• New Labour Tells Kurds To Return To Torture Or Death

Nov 16, 2004

• Kurdish Interpreter killed in Fallujah

• Kurdish Gov't Blocks Roads to Korean Base Town of Arbil

• Hear NPR's Philip Reeves

Nov 15, 2004

• Kurds' Separatist Ambitions Pose Challenge To Iraq Unity

• Kurds in Iran Cheer Iraqi Neighbors' Efforts for Greater Voice

• 300 Kurdish Families Leave Falluja, Rumadi

Nov 14, 2004

• Peshmerga Prevents Arab Terrorists From Crossing Into Eastern Side Of Mosul

"The Peshmergas captured five and killed eight," Mr Piri said. "The five captured did not carry identity cards, so we do not know yet whether they are Iraqi." The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Saleh, said the rebels were trying "to destabilise Mosul" and "to prevent elections" scheduled for January. More

Nov 13, 2004

• Turkish Generals calls for massive operation into Kurdish region

• U.S. Forces Launch Attacks On Militants In Mosul

• Insurgents Attack Fiercely in North, Storming Police Stations in Mosul

• Dutch Police Raid Kurdish Training Camp, Arrest 38

• Ashcroft's Departure May Help Jailed Kurd

Nov 12, 2004

• Kirkuk Governor Survived Car Bombing

Nov 11, 2004

• Turkey Warns US to Stop Operation in Fallujah

• Political Parties Stir Unrest In Kirkuk

• Barzani Trip To Taiwan Postponed

Nov 10, 2004

• Religious Appeals Have Turned Against The Kurds

• South Korean Bank Inaugurated In Irbil

• The Chairman of KDS Party Congratulates Bush

Nov 8, 2004

• Dutch Court Forbids Extradition Of Kurdish Leader To Turkey

Nov 7, 2004

• Minority Phobia Haunts Turkey

• Along border, Kurds Say, Iran Gives Boost To Uprising

Nov 6, 2004

• Kurdish identity key to Turkey’s EU entry: Roth

• Analysis: Is Mosul The Next Al-Fallujah?

Nov 5, 2004

• Kurds Walk Political Tightrope

• Swedish Delegation: Still Much To Do For Human Rights

• Turkey And EU Speak 'Different Languages' On Minorities, Says Minister

Nov 4, 2004

• Kurdish Politicians Lend Support To Zana's Call For New Party

• Ankara Hosts Kurdish Islamic Party Leader

Nov 2, 2004

• Turkey's Basbug Calls For Clampdown On Ocalan Lawyers

• Human Rights Report Sparks Row In Turkey

KurdistanObserver.com

US, Turkey to Cooperate On Probe Into Ambush Of Policemen In Iraq

ANKARA, Dec 21 (AFP) - The United States and Turkey agreed to cooperate in probing the deadly ambush of five Turkish policemen in northern Iraq after a telephone conversation Tuesday between US President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Anatolia news agency reported.

"It is absolutely necessary to shed light on this incident. I have given orders for a full investigation. We trust in your coooperation on this issue," Erdogan was quoted as saying.

Bush said Washington was ready to cooperate, the agency reported.

Five Turkish officers and two Iraqi drivers died Friday when a four-car convoy carrying a group of policemen assigned to guard the Turkish embassy in Iraq was ambushed near the northern city of Mosul on its way to Baghdad.

Two officers who survived the attack reached the Iraqi capital, while a third returned to the Habur border post between the two countries.

During the conversation, Erdogan voiced concern about the increase since last month in clashes between US forces and Iraqi insurgents in Mosul and stressed the need to protect the war-torn country's territorial integrity.

Bush also stressed the need to uphold Iraq's unity, according to Anatolia.

Turkey suspects Kurdish groups in northern Iraq of planning to break away from the central control of Baghdad, a move it fears may fan separatist sentiment among its own restive Kurdish population.

Ankara is also uncomfortable over the large numbers of Turkish Kurd rebels who, it says, receive military training in camps in northern Iraq before sneaking back to Turkey to attack government targets.

Turkey has repeatedly called for US action against the rebels, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, now also known as KONGRA-GEL, waged a 15-year armed campaign for self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey before calling a five-year truce, which it ended in June.

In Tuesday's conversation, Erdogan suggested holding a trilateral security meeting in Turkey between Turkish, US and Iraqi officials -- a proposal Bush said he would evaluate once the security situation in Iraq improves, Anatolia reported.

KurdistanObserver.com