The attack happened at 1630 GMT in a village in the province of Bingol, said the report.

The agency said the attack appeared to have been carried out by the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but that provincial governor Irfan Balkanlioglu did not rule out a vendetta between rival families.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority east and southeast since 1984.

The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives, but the group's attacks in the past 10 years have usually targeted security forces rather than civilians.

The Turkish army killed four PKK members were killed in Bingol and the southeastern province of Hakkari and two Kurdish rebels and two soldiers were killed the previous night in fighting, security sources said.

The Turkish military has stepped up action against the PKK since December, conducting air strikes and a week-long ground offensive against PKK bases in northern Iraq.