Kurdish guerrillas launch clandestine war in Iran

Kurdish guerrillas have launched a clandestine war in north-western Iran, ambushing troops as they seek Western backing to secure an ethnic homeland. In retaliation, the Iranian army has carried out a series of counter-attacks in the mountains, which span the border with Iraq. Iranian newspapers have reported the deaths of seven soldiers in recent clashes with Kurdish guerrillas. Last month, the rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down an Iranian helicopter. A loose alliance of guerrillas, styling itself the Kurdistan Democratic Federation, is fighting for an independent state which would cover the Kurdish-majority areas of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Iran believes that the US and Britain are now arming and training the Kurdish guerrillas to strike its territory from bases inside Iraq. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, accused the US of supporting terrorism inside the Islamic Republic. "America wants to carry out actions such as blowing up the country's oil pipelines by supporting bandits and small groups of Kurdish rebels," he told the Iranian press. In the Qandil mountains, signs of a conflict gathering momentum are easily found. US army helicopters are reportedly used to shuttle officers to regular meetings with Kurdish fighters. There is a landing pad complete with spotlights near a guerrilla headquarters, while four-wheel-drive vehicles belonging to a US private security contractor, are easily seen. PKK officials say privately that its fighters have left in recent months to join cells inside Iran.