Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Kurdistan

Kurdistan stories: 38 news summaries

1 - 20 of 38 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

American Adviser to Kurds Outed as Oil Shareholder

Galbraith's policy push won him $100M

Nov 12, 09 9:15 AM CST
(Newser) - An influential American advocate for Iraqi Kurds, who helped successfully secure Kurdish control over new oil finds in northern Iraq in the country's constitution, stands to reap more than $100 million from the policy he shaped. Peter Galbraith, it turns out, received rights to an enormous oil stake in Kurdistan... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iraq oil • Kurdistan • Kurds • Norway • Peter Galbraith • oil companies • conflict of interest

 Kurds Threaten 
 to Block Iraqi Election 

Dispute over Kirkuk holds up passage of new election law

Oct 29, 09 4:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A dispute over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk is threatening to delay the Iraqi elections scheduled for January and push Arab-Kurd tensions past the breaking point. Kurdish lawmakers in the Iraqi parliament have vowed to block a vote on a new election law unless authorities agree to use voter records... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Kurdistan • Kurds • Massoud Barzani • Kirkuk • Iraqi elections


 Iran Allows 
 Swiss Envoys 
 Visit With 
 Detained Hikers 

Policy reversal may be gesture of goodwill ahead of nuclear talks

Sep 29, 09 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iran has changed its policy on three detained US hikers, allowing Swiss diplomats—who represent American interests in Iran—to visit them. Officials have been denied access to the three Americans since they were detained in July after crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran. Tehran’s reversal may... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • United Nations • Tehran • Kurdistan • Switzerland • United States • detainee • UN Security Council • hikers • Shane Bauer • Joshua Fattal • Sarah Shourd

Ahmadinejad Says He'll Seek Leniency for US Hikers

Iranian president 'hopeful' trio's case can be resolved

Sep 22, 09 10:36 PM CDT
(AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today he will request leniency for three American hikers who apparently strayed across Iran's border. Ahmadinejad said the Americans broke the law, and "we're not happy that this happened." He added, "What I can ask is that the judiciary expedites the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • prison • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Kurdistan • hiking • UN General Assembly • Shane Bauer • Sarah Shourd • Joshua Fattel

(Newser) - The three American hikers nabbed by Iranian authorities after allegedly crossing the border from Iraq were actually spies, an Iranian TV report claims. The Tehran-based station quotes an Iraqi policeman as saying the three were “working with the CIA.” Hillary Clinton meanwhile asked the Iranian government today for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • CIA • Kurdistan • tourists • spies • hikers

(Newser) - The mother of one of the three Americans detained while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border confirmed that her son has been arrested by Iranian security forces, reports CNN. Joshua Fattal of Pennsylvania and two friends, who were warned by Iraqi police not to hike in the border region, were seized... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • Kurdistan • arrest • tourists

 Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists 


Aug 1, 09 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iran has arrested three American tourists who were hiking near the border in Iraq's Kurdistan region, the BBC reports. Kurdish officials believe the hikers were seized after accidentally straying into Iranian territory. State Department officials say they are investigating and taking the matter very seriously. "It looks like the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • Kurdistan • tourists

(AP) - The United States is considering speeding up its withdrawal from Iraq because of the sustained drop in violence there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, following discussions with his top commanders in the war. "I think there's at least some chance of a modest acceleration," this year, Gates... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Robert Gates • Kurdistan • Kurds • Iraq exit strategy • troop drawdown

(Newser) - Tension between Arabs and Kurds, rather than the usual friction between Sunnis and Shia, has become the greatest threat to Iraqi security, says the top US general in the country. The oil-rich Kurdish region has become "the No. 1 driver of instability," Ray Odierno told reporters yesterday, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Robert Gates • Kurdistan • Kurds • Iraq security • Gen. Ray Odierno

UPDATED

 Suicide Bomber Kills 55 
 in Iraqi Restaurant 

ALL ART IS FILE STUFF. NOTHING FROM AP YET

Dec 11, 08 9:55 AM CST
(AP) - A suicide bomber killed 55 people and wounded 120 in a crowded restaurant in northern Iraq today, as Kurdish officials were meeting there with Arab tribal leaders to discuss long-standing ethnic tensions, the AP reports. It appeared to be the deadliest attack in Iraq in nearly 6 months.The blast... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • terrorism • Kurdistan • Kurds • suicide bombing • oil field • Kirkuk

Ex-Pentagon Official Eying Iraq Oil Deal

Noted war booster
Perle denies deal, Kazakh connection

Jul 29, 08 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former Pentagon official Richard Perle is on board with a consortium seeking to drill for oil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the Wall Street Journal reports—though both Baghdad and Washington want a national oil law passed before regional business is done. The Iraq war backer denies that he’s... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Turkey • Pentagon • Kurdistan • Richard Perle • Kazakhstan • oil drilling

Would-Be Oil Barons Venture Into Kurdistan

Northern Iraqi region awash in untapped black gold—and risk

Jul 9, 08 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Kurdistan, Iraq’s mostly autonomous northern region, is brimming with oil, but the big oil companies won’t touch it. The Kurdish government gladly hands out exploration contracts, but taking one invites the wrath of the central government in Baghdad. That’s left the forbidden fruit to “wildcatters,”... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iraq oil • Kurdistan • Northern Iraq • oil exploration

White House in Loop on Troubling Iraq Oil Deal

Bush crony's Kurdistan deal undermined Baghdad government

Jul 3, 08 3:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - The State Department was fully aware that a Texas firm linked to President Bush planned to sign a controversial Kurdistan oil deal that undermined the Iraqi government, reports the New York Times. Documents released by a congressional committee yesterday reveal that Hunt Oil—run by a close associate of the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iraq oil • State Department • Kurdistan • Hunt Oil • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

 Turkey Launches
 New Airstrike in Iraq 

Military reports 'neutralizing' Kurdish rebels

Apr 16, 08 9:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey's air force flew into northern Iraq this morning, firing on a group of Kurdish guerrillas who officials said were attempting to cross the border, Reuters reports. The strikes "neutralized" several members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, said Turkish military authorities. The Kurdish separatist group confirmed the Turkish attack... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Turkey • Kurdistan • PKK • Kurdistan Workers' Party • Northern Iraq • Turkish military

 Kurds Battle Riot 
 Police in Turkey  

Shouting PKK slogans, Turkish Kurds clash with police

Mar 22, 08 7:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thousands of Kurds battled police with rocks and fires in Turkish cities today, the BBC reports. Dozens were injured, including almost 40 demonstrators and 15 officers, as cops arrested more than 130 people. One policeman and three protesters are in intensive care. Sparked by Turkey's strikes on Kurdish rebels in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Turkey • Kurdistan • PKK • riots • Kurdish rebels • Turkish military • protesters • Nowruz • Abdullah Ocalan

Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq

Says it made its point to the PKK

Feb 29, 08 8:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Turkey pulled its troops out of northern Iraq today, ending a controversial offensive that had Washington and Baghdad on edge, Reuters reports. In a statement, Turkey said it had made its point. “There was no question of completely liquidating” the PKK, the military said, “but Turkey has shown... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Turkey • NATO • Kurdistan • PKK • Kurdistan Workers' Party • George W. Bush

Reb Leader Calls for Kurd Uprising
in Turkey

Insurgency urged as Iraq battle continues

Feb 24, 08 7:31 AM CST
(Newser) - As Turkish troops continue their unprecedented ground offensive in northern Iraq, a leader of the targeted Kurdish separatist group has called for Kurds living in Turkey to rebel. A news agency loyal to the Kurdistan Workers' Party carried the call of the rebel Kurd commander to make Turkish cities "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Turkey • insurgents • Kurdistan • PKK • terrorist • Kurdistan Workers' Party • Kurdish rebels • Northern Iraq • Turkish military

10,000 Turkish Troops Enter Iraq

Ground offensive marks major escalation in fight with Kurd separatists

Feb 22, 08 5:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Turkey has sent 10,000 troops over the border into northern Iraq to hunt down militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, marking the first major ground incursion into the country since 1997, reports Bloomberg. The Turkish military said that the action began last evening, and local television is reporting that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Turkey • Kurdistan • PKK • Kurdistan Workers' Party • Northern Iraq • Kurdish guerrillas • Turkish military

Kurds Lead Charge to Oust Iraqi Leader

US tries to stave off no-confidence vote against PM Maliki

Jan 9, 08 4:02 PM CST
(Newser) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is under fire again, this time from Kurdish politicians who say he hasn’t followed through on promises he made after the Kurds propped him up last summer. A Kurdish/Sunni coalition against Maliki almost has enough votes to depose him, a development the US fears... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Ali al Sistani • Nouri al-Maliki • Kurdistan • Kurds • Iraq government • Jalal Talabani • Massoud Barzani

Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraq

Ground operations follow air raids on Kurdish rebels

Dec 18, 07 6:14 AM CST
(Newser) - Turkey sent hundreds of troops across the Iraqi border today to battle Kurdish separatists, the first large-scale ground incursion since tensions rose in the fall, Reuters reports. About 300 lightly armed troops arrived in a semi-autonomous mountainous region, Iraqi officials said. Ankara had no immediate comment on the operation, which... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Turkey • Condoleezza Rice • Kurdistan • Kurdistan Workers' Party • Kurdish rebels

1 - 20 of 38 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


from our news partners