It was not immediately clear what object the children discovered as they played in the street in Sirnak town.

A man who was passing by was also injured, the report said.

Turkey's southeast has been the theatre of a bloody two-decade conflict between the army and Kurdish rebels fighting for self-rule that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Several other children have been killed or injured in the region in the past after tampering with hand grenades or small homemade bombs they have found dumped outdoors, mostly in rural areas.