Kirkuk complexities grow; Baghdad lacks will on Kurdish issues; Syrian Kurds feeling trapped; Afghanistan is "very, very difficult"; Afghan violence expected to rise; Intelligence sharing vital to Afghan success

Arab, Kurdish tensions mount in Ninawa; Iraq preps for SOFA vote; Sadr emergence welcomed, U.S. says; Karzai plans Swat-style offensive; Regional unity needed, Karzai says; White phosphorus as propaganda

Hakim slams Baathist return; Barzani stresses federal structure in Iraq; Iraqis wary of post-American environment; Attacks plague NATO efforts in Afghanistan; Kabul struggles with returning refugees; Afghan forces capture IED ringleader

BAGHDAD, March 3 (UPI) -- A bilateral U.S. and Iraqi committee is ramping up efforts to execute provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement, officials said.

Iraqi Islamic Party shuns Rafsanjani; Kurdish lawmakers deny Iraqi election monitors; courts face political pressure over speaker post.

Maliki looks for an alternative Shiite alliance; there is no intention to oppose Maliki; agreements on the speaker of Parliament

Row over speaker highlights political divisions; speaker vetting threatens Parliament; political reform is an Iraqi matter.

ANKARA, Turkey, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Turkey cautioned against moving too quickly on a referendum to settle the disputed status of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, officials said.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Shiite Iraqi lawmakers said Monday the matter of minority representation in the provincial elections law will be put on the next parliamentary agenda.