Two soldiers killed in Kurdish rebel attacks in Turkey: army

Kurds unite to negotiate posts in Iraqi government
Kurdish parties have decided to jointly negotiate for posts in the Iraqi government which has yet to be formed after the March 7 election, the Kurdish regional president announced on Sunday. "We have agreed on a full programme for a Kurdish delegation to go and negotiate in Baghdad on our participation in the formation of the new government," said Massud Barzani, president of Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq. "We are ready to take part in all negotiations with all Iraqi parties in order to put an end to the Iraqi crisis and speed up the formation of a new government based on the principle of a partnership," he said on television. The Kurdish parties, mainly Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of Jalal Talabani, who is president of Iraq, won 59 seats in the 325-member Iraqi parliament.

The Kurdish alliance said last Thursday that it would accept the candidate for premier chosen by the new Shiite coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Maliki's State of Law Alliance and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) led by Shiite religious groups announced earlier in the week that they were forming a new coalition. The outcome of the poll contested two months ago, meanwhile, neared finalisation on Sunday as the results from all but one province were sent for ratification and a recount in the lone exception, Baghdad, was half-way done. Preliminary nationwide results have shown that the Iraqiya bloc of secular ex-premier Iyad Allawi won the most seats with 91, followed closely by the Maliki's State of Law Alliance with 89. But neither bloc commands the majority needed to form a government on its own and must form a coalition.

by Staff Writers
Ankara (AFP) May 8, 2010
Two Turkish soldiers were killed Saturday in roadside explosions blamed on separatist Kurdish rebels, the military said, as violence mounted in the country's restive southeast after a winter lull.

The soldiers died in separate incidents in the provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak, both bordering Iraq, when home-made bombs planted by Kurdish rebels exploded, the army said on its web site.

Clashes in the same region claimed seven lives Friday, prompting also cross-border air raids on targets in northern Iraq, where the rebels have rare bases.

The operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began after a group of about 25 militants attacked a commando unit near the border village of Daglica Friday morning, killing two soldiers.

At least five PKK militants were killed in the ensuing clashes.

"After detecting that anti-aircraft fire was opened on (Turkish) helicopters from various positions across the border, the air force fired on those positions" for an hour, the army said late Friday.

"It has been observed that those positions were destroyed.

"Operations in the region are continuing and it is believed that the losses of the terrorists are higher," the statement said.

Winter lulls in the 25-year conflict are usually broken with the arrival of spring when the snow melts, allowing the rebels to move out from their mountainous hideouts in Turkey and Iraq.

The Turkish army has staged a series of air raids against PKK bases in northern Iraq since December 2007, often with the help of US intelligence, and in February 2008 carried out a week-long ground incursion.

In October 2007, Daglica was the scene of one of the bloodiest PKK attacks in recent years in which rebels sneaking in from Iraq ambushed a patrol, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 17 others.

The attack turned up pressure on the government for cross-border military action against the PKK, paving the way for subsequent parliamentary authorisation to that effect. The mandate expires in October.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against Ankara in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

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India warns US against military aid to Pakistan
New Delhi (AFP) May 7, 2010
India's defence minister cautioned the United States on Friday against military supplies to rival Pakistan, saying the hardware could be diverted to target India. The warning came after the US in March said it would deliver unarmed drones to Pakistan and less than a month after it unveiled plans to transfer 600 million dollars to Islamabad to pay for anti-militant operations. A. K. Anton ... read more

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