The landmine was detonated by remote control while the soldiers were combing a road in the mountainous Sirnak province, near the Syrian border, for explosives, the sources said.

The army launched an operation against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the area after the incident, they said.

Remote-control landmine attacks against the security forces have recently become a hallmark of PKK violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in the region since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.