"The Kurdish controled north has been pretty much semi-autonomous for ten years, particularly in the rugged mountain areas where this al Qaeda camp was located. The camp was located well within the no-fly zone where U.S. forces have held unchallenged air supremacy since 1991."

The Kurds are in the north. The Kurds have had been "semi-autonomous".
But the Kurds don't control the north.

"As for Ansar al-Islam, they have no relationship with the Iraqi regime and Saddam Hussein. Terrorist camps of this type can be found in remote areas of almost every islamic country in the middle east."

The Ansar al-Islam have been recently attacked by coalition forces, as result they have retreated into Iran. In case you haven't noticed, Saddam can control his country by using miltary force (or could have before the coalition forces arrived). If Saddam had not wanted the Ansar al-Islam in Iraq he could have easily removed them. Instead of being hostile, Saddam has formed an alliance and has been working with the Ansar al-Islam in order to get rid of Kurdish people. The amount of control over Ansar al-Islam is somewhat in doubt- there could be the same type of absolute control as Saddam has had in most of Iraq, or there could be a loose partnership- this isn't clear, but certainly there is a relationship.