Iraqi Kurds voted on Saturday in polls expected to keep President Masoud Barzani in power and unlikely to allay voters' worries about corruption.

United States President George Bush urged Nato ally Turkey on Thursday to end its offensive against Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq quickly, but Washington said it would not threaten to withdraw intelligence help. The United States fears prolonging the Turkish operation, which began on February 21, will undermine stability in the region.

Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed villages deep in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing one woman and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, local officials said. In Ankara, the Turkish military's General Staff said in a statement its warplanes had attacked targets of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party.