The nine militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were shot dead in a security operation that began Sunday in the mountainous Hakkari province, which borders Iraq and Iran.

A soldier was also wounded in the operation which began after rebel attacks on a local military outpost, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Separately, a soldier was shot dead in a clash overnight with an underground far-left group in Tunceli province where the militants were believed to have planned an attack on a nearby hydro-electric power plant, they added.

A security operation was under way in the area to hunt down the militants.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed around 45,000 lives.