Police in the city of Van followed the militant to his home, which they suspected of being a cell of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and ordered him to surrender, the sources said.

He refused and tried to throw a hand grenade at them, but dropped it; the grenade detonated inside the house, killing him instantly, they said.

Police found bombs made of plastic explosives hooked to mobile phones in the house, leading them to believe he was preparing to carry out attacks in the city.

Three other people in the house were also detained.

Southeastern and eastern Turkey have been a theater of deadly violence off and on since 1984, when the outlawed PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara, the European Union and the United States, began fighting for Kurdish self-rule in the region.

The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Turkish officials have blamed the rebels for several bomb attacks in urban centres over the past two years.