Two soldiers and a "village guard", a Kurdish militia member armed by Ankara to fight Kurdish separatists, were killed fighting members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the mountainous Sirnak region that borders Iraq overnight Saturday to Sunday, according to the security source, who asked not to be named.

A third soldier died when a PKK mine exploded in the eastern Bitlis province, the source added.

The four deaths bring the number of pro-Turkish troops killed over the past two days to six.

On Friday, two Turkish soldiers and two Kurdish rebels were killed in clashes in the same area. Four troops were injured in the fighting.

More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984 when the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.

The PKK announced a ceasefire in October, but Turkish authorities rejected it. Violence related to the conflict has however since dwindled.