Related developments

In its third large cross-border attack into Iraq within a week, Turkey said its warplanes had killed hundreds of separatist Kurdish rebels. Kurdish officials, however, said no one had been wounded or killed. A border official for the central Iraqi government also said there had been no casualties. It was impossible to independently verify the competing claims.

In Baghdad, thousands of residents ventured out of their homes in droves, taking advantage of a lull in violence and the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha.

In Diyala Province, where extremists remain active, U.S. troops discovered a Shiite village that had been systematically destroyed in an area where Al-Qaida in Iraq has been operating.

NEWS SERVICES