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Northern front bursts into action with major air assault on Kirkuk Mon Mar 24, 4:38 PM ET CHAMCHAMAL, Iraq (AFP) - US-led forces carried out massive air strikes around Iraq (news - web sites)'s northern oil capital of Kirkuk, as pro-US Kurdish forces here signalled a new front against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) could soon be opened. A US general in Salahaddin, meanwhile, announced the formation of a military and humanitarian liaison centre for northern Iraq and southeast Turkey, as part of an apparent bid to avoid any Kurdish-Turkish conflict in case of a Turkish deployment in Iraqi...

SALAHADDIN, Iraq, March 24 (AFP) - 18h36 - A US general announced here Monday the formation of a military and humanitarian liaison centre for northern Iraq and southeast Turkey. General Pete Osman told reporters the Military Coordination and Liaison Command (MCLC) was set up "to conduct liaison and coordination with military and humanitarian assistance organisations operating in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq". "The primary function of the MCLC is to synchronise humanitarian support operations, assist in the deconfliction (sic) of military and humanitarian activities, and coordinate relief into northern Iraq," according to a statement issued after the announcement by...