Officials from Turkey, the United States and Iraq is expected to meet in their second time in Washington in August to deal with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

The follow-up meeting will be held in the first week of August and officials of the three parties will take up legal process concerning the extradition of PKK top members to Turkey, said the reports.

Their first meeting was held in Ankara in January, aimed at finding ways and means to eliminate PKK militants in northern Iraq.

During the January meeting, Turkey had submitted a list of demands for the expulsion of PKK elements from the region.

The participants also stated that they reached consensus on the necessity of an international cooperation to fight against terrorism and agreed to establish a mechanism for intelligence sharing.

On Tuesday, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish armed forces Ilker Basbug said that the United States has ordered the arrest of PKK top members.

Citing figures about PKK militants after capture of its leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, Basbug noted that the number of militants in Turkey now stands at the minimum level of around 1800-1900, but there are 3300-3700 PKK militants in foreign countries, with most of them in northern Iraq.

It is difficult to eradicate terrorism completely, but it should be reduced to a minimum level, he urged.

The PKK has been fighting a guerrilla war with Turkish government forces since 1984. After Ocalan's capture, violence was subdued significantly. But it has been on the rise since the group called off a unilateral ceasefire in 2004.

Turkey has been asking the United States and Iraq to take actions against the group, which Ankara refuses to negotiate, deeming it a terror organization.

Source: Xinhua