Earlier this month the Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani made an historic visit to the Turkish capital.

VOA: standard.2010.06.17

The group, although riven by internal disputes, is sponsored by the Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.

CNN: Kurds' ambitions add explosive element to Syria equation

Mr Biden made calls to Mr Maliki and to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani encouraging them to engage in dialogue, the White House said in a statement.

BBC: Iraq interior ministry hit by suicide car bomber

And you always have to look at Kurdish politics against the context of the competition between Massoud Barzani, the leader -the president of Iraqi Kurdistan and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Jalal Talabani, who on one hand is now the president of Iraq, but on the other hand is also the leader of his - of Barzani's chief competitor, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

NPR: After Turkish Airstrikes, Rice Visits Kirkuk