PHNOM PENH -- Phnom Penh and Washington Friday signed a deal that will exempt US citizens on Cambodian soil from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), officials said.

The deal on the so-called Article 98 of the ICC agreement was inked after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the exemption issue in talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen during a visit here last week.

The ICC is the world's first permanent international court to try cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

But the U.S. fears the court could become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of its citizens and has launched a campaign to secure bilateral immunity deals since the court came into being in July last year.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said, after the signing with U.S. ambassador to Phnom Penh Charles Ray, that Washington's deepening role in combatting terrorism had justified the exemption.

"Taking into account the role, the big role, of the US in combating terrorism, we accept to sign this agreement with the US for the sake of the whole international community's (war) against terrorism," he told AFP.

The Article 98 agreement is controversial, particularly in Europe where the European Union -- which supports the court -- has campaigned to limit the scope of deals signed with the US by EU members or aspirants.

To date, the U.S. has signed Article 98 agreements with 39 countries.