Kurdish rebels, Iranian Guards killed near Iraqi border

"A group of 11 counter-revolutionaries linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), who were attempting to infiltrate the country were immediately detected... and were eliminated after 10 days of pursuit in the Sarvabad region," said General Mohammad Hossein Rajabi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Kurdistan province.

Three members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards were also killed in the fighting.

On Sunday, five Kurdish rebels were killed by the Revolutionary Guards in similar clashes along its border with the Kurdish region in Iraq, state media reported.

The commander the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces, General Mohammad Pakpour, threatened to launch cross-border attacks against rebel bases in northern Iraq in response.

"Since the main bases of these terrorists are in northern Iraq, if they don't follow through with commitments to stop these attacks, their bases will be targeted where they are," he said.

The KDPI was formed in 1945 and is known to be the oldest Kurdish party in Iran.

The group has demanded independence for several years and stepped up its armed rebellion against authorities following a crackdown in the wake of the 1979 revolution.

Insurgents were forced to retreat into Iraqi territory when Iranian forces intervened in 2011 following a Kurdish attack within its borders.

There has been an increase in clashes in the northwest in recent weeks, with reports suggesting at least 17 Kurdish rebels have been killed in clashes this month, despite a period of relative calm in the past year.