Baghdad  - A Kurdish Autonomous Region official said he was hopeful that a landmark visit to Iraq by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would end a phase of cold relations between Ankara, Baghdad and the Kurdish region, media reports said Friday.

"Erdogan's historic visit comes at the right time, heralding an end to a phase of cold relations over the past years between Baghdad, Arbil and Ankara," Parliamentary Speaker Adnan al-Mufti told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

Baghdad - Iraqi Vice-President Adel Abdel-Mahdi, reflecting his country's increasing confidence and desire to be sovereign, said the US military presence in the country should be brought under Iraq

Washington, July 10 : Iraq is talking tough with the United States, which is keen on formally authorizing an unlimited American troop presence in Iraq.

London, July 10 : Britain''s campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan could face problems after it emerged that almost half of all military personnel are ready to quit.

London, July 10 : A new agreement between the U. S. and Iraq is likely to take away the immunity enjoyed so far by American security contractors under Iraqi law.

Baghdad - At least two people were killed and 11 injured Wednesday by a bomb that hit a police checkpoint in Fallujah, the once hotbed of Sunni insurgency in west Iraq, according to police.