Washington  - The United States placed sanctions Wednesday on the leader of Kurdish separatists operating in northern Iraq, accusing Murat Karayilan of trafficking in narcotics.

The US Treasury Department sanctions against Karayilan and two other senior leaders, Ali Riza Altun and Zubayir Aydar, freeze any assets they might have in the United States and ban US citizens from engaging in any business with the three men.

Mosul, Iraq  - Athil al-Najifi, the Arab nationalist governor of Iraq's restive Nineveh province, is striking an uncompromising tone on thorny relations with Kurds in the provincial capital, Mosul.

In an exclusive interview with the German Press Agency dpa, al- Najifi, who led the Sunni Hadba Coalition to victory in January's provincial council elections on a platform of regaining control from Kurdish parties, said he expected Iraqi Kurdish parties "to come to grips with the changed situation" after his coalition's victory and the US withdrawal from the city.

Baghdad  - Oil will begin flowing from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq on Monday, despite opposition from the Iraqi central government in Baghdad, local media reported Sunday.

"We have finalized all the preparations. A few days ago we conducted a test pumping, and now we are exporting oil officially as of tomorrow (Monday)," Mohammed Okotan, a project director from the Taq Taq oil company, told Baghdad's Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The government in Baghdad has repeatedly said it does not recognise the legitimacy of the Kurdish export contracts.

Istanbul - Six Turkish soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion in the south-east of the country, local television reports said Thursday.

Several people were injured when the landmine that had been placed beside a road in the province of Hakkari exploded on Wednesday night, according to the reports.

A month ago, nine soldiers were killed in a bomb attack carried out by members of the banned separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in the same region.

Baghdad  - Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Tuesday called oil deals between the government of the Kurdish region and foreign oil companies are "illegal".

"Iraq's oil ministry considers the contracts signed by the Kurdish government with the international oil companies illegitimate and illegal," Al-Shahristani told the state-run TV channel of Iraqia.

Ankara  - Turkish warplanes bombed suspected positions of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Tuesday, the general army staff in Ankara has reported.

The military statement said that the attacks took place in the Qandil mountains, inside Iraq and near to the Iranian border.

Turkish authorities believe the area to be the main hideout of PKK fighters, who have launched repeated attacks from there against the Turkish military.

Ankara  - Two Kurdish separatists were killed Saturday in a clash with Turkish soldiers in south-east Turkey, the General Staff announced on Sunday.

The Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants were killed in fighting in a mountainous region of Sirnak, near the Turkish border with Iraq, according to a short statement posted on the official website of the armed forces.

Along with the militants' weapons and ammunition, more than two tonnes of supplies were seized after the clash.