Iraqi council okays federalism, Kurdish autonomy

US soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiments of the 4th Infantry Division blindfold Iraqi detainees during a raid in former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, 180km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad yesterday. Hundreds of US soldiers with air support raided scores of houses in Tikrit and detained 13 anti-coalition fighters. PHOTO: AFP

The fate of three more provinces over which the Kurds have claims would be decided later, he added.

Kurdish leaders Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, meanwhile, met four Arab Governing Council members on Iraq's future shape late Thursday and early Friday in the Kurdish resort of Salahuddin.

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Nuraddin, a Kurdish independent helping draft the country's basic law, said the lawmakers had already decided on basic principles for Kurdish self-rule.

"In the fundamental law, Kurdistan will have the same legal status as it has now," he told AFP, referring to the region that has enjoyed virtual autonomy since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

He said the council has decided that the basic law, to be adopted by March 1, will formally recognise the principle of federal Iraq, preserving the Kurds' legal right to autonomy over the long term.