The roadside bomb, planted by rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), exploded as a military vehicle was passing near the town of Cukurca in Hakkari province, close to the Iraqi border, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The PKK has significantly escalated attacks against Turkish targets after jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan said in May that he was abandoning efforts for peace with Turkey and the rebels called off a unilateral truce last month.

Blacklisted as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast of Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.