WORLD> Middle East
Suicide bomb blast kills 23 at funeral in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-24 09:03

A Jalula resident who was wounded in Monday's blast blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, a Sunni Arab organization that typically carries out suicide bombings. He identified himself only by his nickname Abu Holman.

"Al-Qaida is targeting the Kurds because it believes that we are involved in the political process and collaborating with the Americans," Abu Holman said from his hospital bed. "There are still many al-Qaida hotbeds in our area."

Kurdish issues were at the forefront of talks in Baghdad between Iraqi officials and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who arrived Monday for the first visit here by a Turkish head of state in more than 30 years.

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Gul urged the Iraqis to close down the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, which launches attacks in southeastern Turkey from sanctuaries in northern Iraq.

"The time has come to remove the element that is a source of trouble," Gul said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd.

"We need to engage in a joint struggle to completely eradicate terrorism," Gul said. "A comprehensive cooperation is required. There is no doubt that a greater role falls to the (place) where the terrorist organization's leadership and camps are based."

For his part, Talabani said the removal of the PKK rebels was in Iraq's interest as well and called on the rebels to lay down their arms. The rebels have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.

"Either they will lay down arms or they will leave our territory," he said.

Turkey has carried out several cross border airstrikes against rebel targets and is pressing Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government to step up efforts against the Kurdish rebels from their side.

Tensions escalated last year after the rebels killed about two dozen Turkish soldiers in attacks in October.

The areas where the PKK operates are under control of the Iraqi Kurdish regional administration rather than the Arab-dominated central government in Baghdad.

Gul was to discuss the issue with the prime minister of the Kurdish region, Nerchirvan Barzani, in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Relations between the central government and the Kurdish regional authority have been strained because of differences over territorial boundaries and the limits of provincial authority.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has complained that the 2005 constitution gives too much power to regional authorities, including the Kurds. Kurdish politicians have accused al-Maliki of wanting to expand his power at their expense.

Those differences could complicate efforts to resolve any of the issues involving the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population.

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