Kurdistan Observer

HALABJA, In a lush valley of northern Iraq conflict is brewing, among the sunflowers and wheat fields Kurdish peshmerga fighters are locked in a tense stand off with Islamic rebels said to be linked to al-Qaeda.

As speculation rises that U.S. forces are gearing up to try to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the tension in this quiet corner of Iraqi Kurdistan underscores the instability of a region cut loose from Baghdad rule for more than a decade.

An uneasy peace held for years between Islamic radicals and the social democrat Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) around Halabja, a small town made infamous by a 1988 Iraqi chemical weapon attack that killed some 5,000 of its inhabitants.

But when Ansar al-Islam guerrillas ransacked the tombs of mystical Muslim Sufi sheikhs earlier this month, the PUK said it was the last straw.

"The opportunity for dialogue has passed," PUK leader Jalal Talabani said in a statement last week. "From the moment these outrageous crimes were committed by the group, the policy of the PUK is to eradicate this terrorist group once and for all."

Massoud Barzani, leader of the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party which controls the western half of the breakaway region, has offered help to snuff out Ansar in a sign of increasing cooperation between the once-warring factions.

MYSTERIOUS MILITANTS

Exactly who the Ansar rebels are remains shrouded in mystery. The PUK say Ansar is controlled by al-Qaeda Arabs who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban's defeat.

Ordinary Kurds say neighbouring Iran, officially Shi'ite and no friend of the strictly Sunni Taliban and al-Qaeda, is behind the group. PUK officials hint Baghdad may be backing them.

Whoever Ansar may be, PUK leaders are seeking international support by invoking the vocabulary of U.S. President George W. Bush's "war on terror" to terminate the mysterious militants.

"Our intelligence confirms they part of the international terrorist network al-Qaeda," Barham Salah, prime minister of the PUK-held region told Reuters. "Terrorism is an international phenomenon and requires an international response."

PUK peshmergas are busy building mounds of earth to see above the sunflowers across the flat valley bottom and try to spot Ansar fighters who slip down from their commanding mountain positions to infiltrate the area at night.

But on top of their geographical disadvantage, PUK forces have another problem which hinders their ability to attack Ansar. Two other armed Islamist groups, officially at peace with the PUK, are in the way.

"We don't intend to attack Ansar at the moment, because their west is controlled by the Islamic League and the Islamic Movement and to their rear is Iran," said local commander Jafar.

The Islamic Movement of Kurdistan says it wants no part in any conflict between their neighbours. The much better armed and equipped PUK seized Halabja from them late last year, leaving them a small base on a hill at the edge of town.

Despite the peace, PUK peshmerga are loath to go too close to the base and keep a watchful eye from down the street.

The leader of the Islamic Movement, more moderate than Ansar militants who split from his group, does not shrink from promising worldwide retribution against U.S. interests should Washington launch an attack on Baghdad. Yet even his men say it is too dangerous to go anywhere near Ansar.

PUK leaders are worried by revenge attacks from Iraqi government troops in the event of a U.S. attack on Baghdad and are unwilling to fight on two fronts at the same. With that in mind, analysts say, it cannot be too long before the PUK moves to eliminate the Islamist thorn in their side.