Washington - Leaders of the two main Kurdish factions in Iraq have agreed here to work toward reconciliation during a "transitional period" before regional elections next year, a senior State Department official said yesterday. The agreement, sealed by a ceremonial handshake between Mr Massud Barzani and Mr Jalal Talabani, came after six months of mediation by Washington, Turkey and Britain, the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, said.
Meanwhile a Turkish state security court yesterday jailed eight special policemen and militia members for 14 years for kidnapping a local businessman in the country's south-east, the theatre of a separatist Kurdish insurgency.