Lodged in northern Iraq in an area flanked by NATO member Turkey and Washington's foe Iran, elements of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have accused Teheran of attacking their encampments.

The separatists, fighting for the creation of a Kurdish state in Turkey's southeast, said Iranian artillery on April 20 bombed their positions in Iraq killing two fighters and wounding 10 others.

"There is an agreement between Turkey and Iran to attack our positions," the commander of the group, Rustom Judi, told AFP in Anzi, a small village in rugged mountains, located near the Iranian border some 135 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of Sulaimaniyah.

"Iranian forces have no reason to do this because the fighting has been between our men and soldiers inside Turkey, far from the Iranian border," he added.

Turkey says some 5,000 armed PKK militants have found refuge in northern Iraq since 1999, when the group declared a unilateral ceasefire after the capture of its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The truce was called off in June 2004.

"I warn Iran that their aggression against our party's positions in Iraq will have consequences," Judi said.

A female Kurdish fighter from Syria, Mezkin Jurdit, added: "Iran has attacked our forces for the past year, arresting many of us.

"Recently, the Iranians started reinforcing their military positions on the border," she said. "If they continue their attacks, we will start a merciless guerrilla war within Iran.

"Currently our strategy is defensive, but that can change if the Iranian attacks continue," she said.

In a village near Anzi housing some 50 families, Iraqi Kurdish locals live in fear of being caught in the crossfire between the PKK and Iran.

The rebels have until now kept a low profile, despite establishing checkpoints from which they monitor signs of any possible Iranian attack.

"We live in fear of the presence of nearby Iranian troops. It reminds me of our time under Saddam Hussein," said Haji Mustafa Yunes, referring to Iraq's ousted leader who waged a decade-long war against Iran.

The 56-year-old local returned to the village following Saddam's 1991 loss of control over the region, since when northern Iraq has been under the control of the Iraqi Kurds.

His sentiments were echoed by 20-year-old Amanj Mohammed.

"We're startled by planes because we fear we could be the target of a bombing," he said.

Iran has accused Kurdish rebels of infiltrating its territory.

Teheran and Ankara have agreed to help each other fight both the Kurdish rebels who oppose Turkish rule and the People's Mujaheedeen, an Iraq-based group opposing Iran.

Turkey has long urged the United States and Iraq to root out the PKK from its bases in the mountains of northern Iraq, but it has been told that violence in other parts of the conflict-torn country was their priority.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Ankara during a visit last Tuesday to refrain from unilateral action against the Iraq-based Kurdish rebels, calling instead for renewed trilateral cooperation to fight the threat.

Turkey has massed troops along the border to intensify operations against PKK rebels who are sneaking into Turkey in growing numbers with the arrival of spring when snow melts and makes passage through the mountains easier.

The Kurdish conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives since the PKK launched its separatist campaign in 1984.