The fighting erupted Thursday during a security sweep in a mountainous region of Tunceli province, where Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels are active, said a statement on the general staff's Internet site.

It added that three members of the security forces were wounded Thursday in a landmine explosion, blamed on the rebels, in the southeastern Sirnak province, which lies on the border with Syria and Iraq.

Turkey charges that thousands of PKK rebels have found refuge in the autonomous Kurdish-held north of Iraq, where they enjoy free movement and obtain weapons and explosives.

Earlier Friday, Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay and his Iraqi counterpart, Jawad Al-Bolani, signed an accord to crack down on the PKK.

But the two sides failed to reach agreement on a proposed article that would have allowed Turkey -- with Iraqi authorisation -- to conduct small-scale military operations across the border to hunt PKK militants.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, has notably stepped up violence this year.

The group has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.