A security source said previously that five rebels died in two separate incidents on Monday, but the toll has been revised upwards for the clashes in Sirnak province bordering Iraq.

Some 15 rebels and two soldiers were killed when the army raided a rural and mountainous part of the province, where the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is known to have bases, according to a local governorate statement.

In the other incident, security forces in Diyarbakir killed a driver in fighting that broke out after they halted his vehicle and found 125 kilogrammes (275 pounds) of explosives in it.

Clashes between the Turkish army and the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have intensified in recent months.

In October, Turkey launched an air and land offensive against the Kurdish separatists both in the southeast as well as in northern Iraq after 24 soldiers were slaughtered in an ambush.

Turkey regards the PKK as a terrorist organisation, as do the European Union and United States.