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NEWS ABOUT: Kurdistan

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Iran OKs Visit by Moms of Detained US Hikers

But Tehran has made promises in the past

(Newser) - Iran will allow the mothers of the three American hikers who have been in custody for nearly a year to visit their children. Tehran has ordered its UN mission to issue visas for the three moms, the AP reports, but no date has been has been set. Iran has told... More »

US Hikers Held in Iran Took Big Risks

Crossing the border accidentally is hard, but possible

(Newser) - How hard is it to accidentally cross the border from Kurdish Iraq into Iran, as Sarah Shourd, Josh Fattal, and Shane Bauer did last year? Outside magazine dispatched Joshua Hammer to retrace their steps and find out. His conclusion? The three demonstrated a “shocking lack of preparation,” but... More »

USC Prof Fights Terror Charge for Backing Kurds

Supreme Court case puts law to test

(Newser) - A USC professor and human rights activist heads to the Supreme Court next week to fight terror charges for supporting Turkey's Kurdish minority. Ralph Fertig, 79, is a self-described pacifist who says he counseled local leaders on how to peacefully pursue their cause. Those leaders, however, may have been members... More »

American Adviser to Kurds Outed as Oil Shareholder

Galbraith's policy push won him $100M

(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 »

Kurds Threaten to Block Iraqi Election

Dispute over Kirkuk holds up passage of new election law

(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 »

Iran Allows Swiss Envoys Visit With Detained Hikers

Policy reversal may be gesture of goodwill ahead of nuclear talks

(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 »

Ahmadinejad Says He'll Seek Leniency for US Hikers

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

(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 »

Iranian TV: Captured US Hikers Are CIA Spies

(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 »

Family Confirms US Hiker's Arrest in Iran

(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 »

Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists

(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 »

Gates: Troops May Leave Iraq Early

(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 »

Kurd-Arab Conflict Now Biggest Threat to Iraq

(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 »

Suicide Bomber Kills 55 in Iraqi Restaurant

ALL ART IS FILE STUFF. NOTHING FROM AP YET

(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 »

Ex-Pentagon Official Eying Iraq Oil Deal

Noted war booster Perle denies deal, Kazakh connection

(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 »

Would-Be Oil Barons Venture Into Kurdistan

Northern Iraqi region awash in untapped black gold—and risk

(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 »

White House in Loop on Troubling Iraq Oil Deal

Bush crony's Kurdistan deal undermined Baghdad government

(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 »

Turkey Launches New Airstrike in Iraq

Military reports 'neutralizing' Kurdish rebels

(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 »

Kurds Battle Riot Police in Turkey

Shouting PKK slogans, Turkish Kurds clash with police

(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 »

Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq

Says it made its point to the PKK

(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 »

Reb Leader Calls for Kurd Uprising in Turkey

Insurgency urged as Iraq battle continues

(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 »

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