ANKARA Ñ Iraq has again amassed forces in the north in what could be an imminent confrontation with Kurdish separatists.

Kurdish sources said Iraqi troops have been deployed near Kurdish autonomous areas near the Turkish border. They included a concentration of forces near Dohouk, Irbil, Mosul and Suleimaniya.

The Ankara-based Turkish Daily News said the Iraqi deployment includes surface-to-surface missiles. The newspaper did not elaborate.

"The missiles are displayed out in the open as if to serve a clear warning to the Kurds," a Kurdish source was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The report of the new Iraqi troop movements were confirmed by U.S. defense sources. They said both the United States and Britain are monitoring Saddam's military in northern Iraq and was discussed with Kurdish allies of Washington.

The Kurdish autonomous zone is shared by the pro-Iranian Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democracy Party. Kurdish spokesmen have warned of an imminent Iraqi offensive and said Saddam's troops have been ignored by U.S. and British patrols of the no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

At the same time, Saddam met with the KDP amid a call for a dialogue with the northern Kurds.

The Iraqi troop movement was reported as the Northern Alliance entered the Afghan capital of Kabul. The swift toppling of the ruling Taliban movement has alarmed several Arab countries concerned Iraq could be the next target of Washington.

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