Sulaimaniyah

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Kurdish lawmakers began Saturday to plot their course as Iraq's kingmakers with enough seats to secure a second term for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and press key demands, including a greater say over the oil riches in the country's north.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - A leader of Kurdish rebels seeking greater autonomy in Turkey said Thursday the group will extend its unilateral cease-fire for another month in hopes of opening talks with Turkish leaders.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Human Rights Watch called on Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq to ban the practice of female genital mutilation, and said in a report released Wednesday that the majority of women in the self-ruled region undergo the medically risky and emotionally painful procedure.