IRAQ’S foreign minister last night said he believes his country has averted a civil war after five years of “tears and blood” and warned an abrupt US troop withdrawal would be disastrous.

TURKEY paraded its military muscle yesterday, amid stern warnings from Baghdad that any large-scale Turkish incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq would have “disastrous” results.

Turkey today rejected a ceasefire announced by Kurdish rebels and continued with its troop build-up on the border with Iraq.

The most senior leader in Iraq’s Kurdish region appeared to raise the stakes in the stand-off over northern Iraq, warning Turkey that the region would defend itself against any cross-border military strike on rebel bases.

IRAQ’S foreign minister urged neighbours to prevent “terrorists and killers” from crossing into his country and warned yesterday that the violence in Iraq could spill across its borders.

Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari today urged Iraq’s neighbours to prevent “terrorists and killers” from crossing into his country and warned that the violence in Iraq could spill across its borders into other nations.

The American White House welcomed a symbolic unannounced visit to Iraq by France’s foreign minister.

The United States and Iran are to hold ambassador-level talks in Baghdad regarding the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

Iraq’s foreign minister today warned that a quick American military withdrawal from the country could lead to civil war and the collapse of the government, as pressure on the Bush administration for a pull-out grows.

Turkey has massed 140,000 soldiers on its border with northern Iraq but so far there have been no violations, Iraq’s foreign minister said today.

Tens of thousands draped themselves in Iraqi flags and marched peacefully through the streets of two Shiite holy cities today, the fourth anniversary of Baghdad’s fall.

Iraq’s foreign minister welcomed the release today of 15 British sailors and marines but said the decision was not the result of a deal to release five Iranians detained by the US in Iraq.

US and Iranian envoys exchanged direct talks today at a conference on Iraq stability efforts, opening possibly groundbreaking steps that could ease their nearly 28-year diplomatic freeze.

The Iraqi foreign minister today said the five Iranians detained by US-led forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were working in a liaison office that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate.

Iraq’s president rejected suggestions that an international conference be held to address the violence wracking his country, echoing sentiments expressed by other leading politicians.

Gunmen killed 21 people, including a dozen students, after they dragged them off buses north-east of Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein has urged Arab leaders to support Iraqi insurgents, warning that an ”American-Israeli conspiracy” aims to split Iraq into pieces, according to a letter the former Iraqi leader purportedly wrote that appeared on the Internet.

Iraq’s foreign minister today asked Japan’s premier and its defence chief to extend Tokyo’s deployment of about 600 troops to southern Iraq.

Pope Benedict XVI will receive the Iraqi foreign minister today at his summer retreat in the hills south of Rome.

The staid conference room in Brussels could not have seemed further from the bloodstained streets of Baghdad.

Iraq’s foreign minister has called on the world community to provide expertise and more financial help as ministers met ahead of a key international conference on Iraq.

The Palestinian elections provide an opportunity to revive the Mideast peace process, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, adding that Israel is ready for such a step.

WITH time running out for British hostage Kenneth Bigley, US and Iraqi officials said last night they would not free female Iraqi prisoners as demanded by an al-Qaida ally whose group has already beheaded two Americans.

The Philippine government was waiting for information today after making a direct appeal to the insurgents holding a Filipino hostage to spare his life.

The Philippine government made a direct appeal early today to insurgents holding a Filipino hostage, pleading with them to show mercy for the man they pledged to kill if the country did not agree to pull its troops from Iraq early.

IRAQ’S interim government vowed yesterday to restore the death penalty and take a “sharp sword” to insurgents, but also promised an amnesty to any rebels who stop fighting.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari appealed today for the European Union to help rebuild the country and establish democracy.

The transfer of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government is being brought forward to today, the country’s foreign minister said today following with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

IRAQ is still intent on trying former leader Saddam Hussein at home despite his current status as a prisoner of war in US hands, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said yesterday.

Iraqis will be queuing up to give evidence against Saddam at his trial, the country's foreign minister says.

Two more American soldiers were killed and three were wounded in two incidents in northern Iraq, the US military said.

IRAQ’S new governing council — a US sanctioned first step toward democratic government — put off selecting a president yesterday but voted to send a delegation to the UN Security Council.

US special forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters seized a strategic hilltop near the major Baghdad-held city of Mosul in northern Iraq early today, a senior Kurdish leader said.

US aircraft pounded Iraqi positions near the northern town of Kalak yesterday, aiding Kurdish fighters as they seized territory from Saddam Hussein’s fleeing troops.