The explosion took place in Sirnak province near the border with Iraq, as army units and Kudish militia supporting the government campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) combed the mountainous area for rebels, Anatolia said.

Three soldiers and 16 rebels were killed during clashes in the same province this week.

The Turkish army mounted air strikes in December and a ground attack in February against the PKK, which took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984. The fighting has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

The United States and European Union have listed the PKK as a terrorist group, but Thursday the EU's second highest court annulled the 2002 listing by Brussels. The EU, however, said the ruling -- which drew protests from Ankara -- would have no practical effect.