Rebel Kurds Free Turkish Soldiers

Kurds freed eight Turkish soldiers today, a move that may cut the odds of a Turkish invasion into northern Iraq, Reuters reports. But Turkey still wants Kurdish rebels arrested and training camps shut down. Britain's defense secretary called the release "a significant move," but added, "We need to see concrete measures taken by the Iraqi Kurdish officials to curtail the activities of the [Kurdish rebel group] PKK."

President Bush will meet Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan in Washington to tomorrow, hoping to deter an invasion. The US has already labeled rebel Kurds as terrorists, and Baghdad has promised to police them, but Erdogan wants more. Kurdish fighters want Turkey to release their president, Abdullah Ocalan, who is being held prisoner on a Turkish island. (More Turkey stories.)