November 11, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 15, 1424

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ANKARA, Nov 10: US troops and local Kurdish fighters on Sunday clashed with Turkish Kurd rebels hiding in northern Iraq, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Monday.

Sources said a local Kurdish fighter was killed in the fighting.

The clashes, which Mr Gul said took place on Sunday, are the first known armed confrontation between US forces and the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, also known as KADEK) since the United States occupied Iraq.

Turkey has repeatedly called on the United States to move against the PKK guerillas, who have set up bases in a mountainous region of northeastern Iraq.

“Not only US soldiers, but also peshmergas clashed with the PKK,” Mr Gul said, referring to fighters from Kurdish groups in northern Iraq who are allied with Washington.

“Several American helicopters were also involved,” he said.

Turkey had recently expressed frustration over what it saw as US reluctance to purge northern Iraq of the PKK, branded a terrorist organization by both Ankara and Washington.

Last month, the two sides agreed on an “action plan”, including military measures, against the group. —AFP