1st Kurdish fighters enter Iraq from Turkey

Published May 14, 2013

Associated Press

HEROR, Iraq –  The first of Kurdish fighters from Turkey have entered northern Iraq as part of a peace deal to end a long uprising, despite Iraqi objections to the transfer.

Comrades greeted 13 armed men and women from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) at a ceremony in Heror in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish area.

The central government in Baghdad has rejected the deal, warning that the entry of more armed Kurdish fighters could harm the country's security.

A PKK official, Furat Jakrkhouni, said a larger group is expected to enter Iraq in a week if no problems emerge.

In March, the PKK and Turkey announced an agreement to end a nearly three-decade conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. The deal includes refuge for PKK fighters in Iraq's Kurdish region.

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Yemen fighters try, execute al-Qaida militant

SANAA, Yemen –  A member of a militant group in Yemen's south says residents in the town of Jaar tried and executed a man suspected of carrying out a deadly attack for al-Qaida last year.

The local militants, known as Popular Committees, fought alongside Yemen's military to kick al-Qaida out of their towns last year. Its members have come since under attack.

A fighter in Jaar, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution, said Monday his comrades executed 45-year-old Khaled Bathur for an attack last August that killed more than 40 people during a funeral for a fellow Popular Committee fighter.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that Bathur was shot in the head, and then his body was handed over to police.

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