The talks are part of three-way consultations between Turkey, Iraq and the United States, initiated last year to step up joint efforts against the separatist Kurdirtan Workers' Party (PKK), Anatolia news agency quoted Atalay as saying.

"We expect both the central Iraqi government and the regional administration in the north to undertake concrete steps" against the rebels, he said before his departure.

The minister voiced hope the three-way cooperation "will produce good results, particularly in intelligence sharing."

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has long used mountainous bases in Kurdish-run northern Iraq as a launching pad for attacks on Turkish targets across the border.

Also Saturday, seven PKK militants were killed in clashes with the Turkish army in a mountainous area in Sirnak province, close to the Iraqi border, the general staff said on its web site.

The fighting erupted after rebels opened fire on troops Friday evening, killing two soldiers, the statement said, adding that the security operation in the region was continuing.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 44,000 lives.

In November, Iraq, Turkey and the United States formed a joint committee to tackle the threat and enact measures to curb the militants.

The Iraqi Kurds, whom Ankara had long accused of tolerating the rebels on their territory and even aiding them, also joined the committee.

During Turkish President Abdullah Gul's visit to Baghdad last month, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, said the PKK militants must lay down their arms or leave the country.

Turkish warplanes have bombed PKK hideouts in northern Iraq under a parliamentary authorisation since December 2007.