Rice talks of 'bond' against Kurd rebels

CONDOLEEZZA Rice yesterday said the United States, Iraq and Turkey shared a "common interest" in stopping Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, but warned against action that could destabilise the region.

The US secretary of state was speaking after Turkey conducted air strikes against rebels from the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. Up to 50 fighter jets were involved in the attack, the biggest against the PKK in years. The planes attacked several villages, killing one woman.

The Turkish army also sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern Iraq in the early hours of yesterday.

Ms Rice made it clear the US supported efforts to quash any rebel movement, but she said it was a "Turkish decision" to act.

And she suggested that Iraqi, Turkish and US authorities should try to work together against the rebels.

"This is a circumstance in which … we need an overall comprehensive approach to this problem," Ms Rice said. "No-one should do anything that threatens to destabilise the north."

She was speaking during an unannounced visit to Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, where the US administration emphasised what it sees as new signs of co-operation. She met members of a civilian-military reconstruction unit, and provincial politicians of all stripes.

Sunni Arabs ended a yearlong political boycott earlier this month in Kirkuk – the hub of Iraq's northern oil fields – under a deal that sets aside government posts for Arabs. It was the biggest step yet towards unity ahead of a referendum on the area's future.

• A suicide bomber wearing explosives killed 14 people in a Shiite village north of Baghdad yesterday. Suicide bombers, gunmen and car bombs also killed another 14 civilians across the country.