1.   As a young paratrooper he had fought in the north against the Kurdish rebels.

2.   The area is populated by Kurdish rebels who have long-standing grievances against Hussein.

3.   By early April there were reports that Kurdish rebels, under heavy fire from government forces, had retreated into the mountains of northern Iraq.

4.   An appeals court in Rome freed a Kurdish rebel leader from house arrest Wednesday, further inflaming a bitter diplomatic dispute between Italy and Turkey.

5.   Ankara worries that supporting such an insurrection would fuel Kurdish political aspirations in general and embolden its own Kurdish rebels.

6.   Ankara has said the move was intended to prevent Kurdish rebels, based in northern Iraq, from mounting cross-border raids into Turkey.

7.   As I am writing this, news agencies report that the Turkish authorities are conducting a major offensive against Kurdish rebels.

8.   At the time, the Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was in Italy and seeking political asylum there.

9.   Berzan is part of the Kurdish rebel underground in Turkey, and his friendship with Mehmet provides an unexpected education for him.

10.   Both oppose any compromise with Kurdish rebels, or with Greece over issues relating to Cyprus or the Aegean.