Provincial officials said on Monday that Iraqi forces will take over security for Babel province south of Baghdad next month, but the U.S. military said it was not aware of any plans to transfer control.

Turkish military helicopters bombed villages in northern Iraq in strikes directed against Kurdish rebels, two Turkish television channels reported on Tuesday.

A Turkish soldier was killed and three others injured in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas in southeast Turkey on Tuesday, security sources said.