(By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer) Iraq's senior Kurdish leader met with Turkish officials Tuesday in Baghdad, a news agency reported, in a Turkish bid to encourage Iraqi Kurds to crack down on Kurdish guerrillas launching attacks in Turkey from sanctuaries in Iraq. It was the first direct talks in four years between Turkey and Massoud Barzani, president of the three-province self-ruled Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The meeting was held as Turkish media reported that five Turkish soldiers were wounded Tuesday in a Kurdish guerrilla attack on a military convoy in southeastern Turkey. Earlier this month, Kurds rebelling against Turkey killed 17 Turkish soldiers on the Turkey-Iraq border. Iraqi Kurdish authorities condemned the Oct. 3 attack. But Turkey has been pressing them to cut supply lines to the rebels and arrest and hand over their fellow Kurds. Iraqi Kurds have their own police and armed force and are largely responsible for security in the northern areas of Iraq where the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, operates, rather than U.S. or Iraqi government troops. The Tuesday meeting took place in the U.S.-protected Green Zone and lasted about two hours, Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reported. Turkey's special envoy for Iraq Murat Ozcelik was quoted as saying the talks were held in a "positive atmosphere" and that Turkey had communicated to the other side its suggestions concerning security. A spokesman ...
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