"I utterly condemn the latest attacks by the PKK and send our deepest condolences to the families of the victims," said Miliband, in a statement released by the foreign ministry.

"I want to express my complete solidarity with the government, armed forces and people of Turkey.

"I call on all in the region, especially Iraq, to express their disgust at these attacks. I call on the international community to be unequivocal in its condemnation of PKK terrorism and to support Turkey in restoring stability."

Miliband said the PKK was "trying to destroy the Turkish government's efforts to improve the situation of people in the south east of the country, provoke conflict between Turkey and Iraq and damage regional stability."

"Turkey's friends admire the resilience it has shown in seeking to resolve the issue of Iraqi territory being used to support these attacks. The Turkish government is right to seek a solution through dialogue with the Iraqi government.

"We support the continuation of those efforts and urge the Iraqi government, with the support of the Kurdish regional government, to take the necessary steps to prevent the use of Iraqi territory for these purposes."

Thirty-two Kurdish rebels and 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in heavy clashes in southeastern Turkey prompted by a rebel attack on the military patrol, the Turkish army said.

A Kurdish rebel leader said several Turkish soldiers were also captured by the rebels during the fighting, however this was denied by Turkey's Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul.

Iraq's security committee held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the latest incident along the border, which follows Turkey's threat to send troops inside Iraq to flush out the rebels.