TEHRAN, Iran, APR 25 (AP/UNB) - A news agency says four troops from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels in western Iran. Eight others were wounded.

Iran's Mehr news agency said Wednesday the fighting erupted near Paveh. There has been sporadic fighting in the mountainous regions on Iran's border with Iraq and Turkey between Iranian forces and the rebels.

This is the most serious clash between the rebels and Iranian forces since September.

The report says the Guard clashed Tuesday with armed members of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, or PEJAK, which is fighting for greater rights in Iran.

PEJAK is the Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is struggling for autonomy in Turkey with an eye toward uniting Kurds in the region.