The fighting erupted Monday when a group of militants from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) opened fire on soldiers patrolling a mountainous area in Bingol province, the sources said.

A soldier as well as two villagers, caught in the fire while taking care of their beehives in the forest, were wounded, they said.

Ankara is pursuing military action against the PKK, while pledging reforms to expand the freedoms of the Kurdish community.

The government rejects dialogue with the rebels and has urged them to either surrender or face military action.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against Ankara in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.