Fighting erupted in a mountainous area near Eruh town in Siirt province during a security operation against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the source said on condition of anonymity.

Five soldiers died in that operation, he added.

The two other casualties occurred in a second clash near Cukurca town in the province of Hakkari, on the border with Iraq.

Additional troops were sent to the area aboard Skorsky helicopters.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast and east since 1984, in a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Last week, the rebels announced that they were extending a unilateral ceasefire to the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on September 22.

They warned, however, that they would defend themselves if they came under attack from the Turkish military.

The Turkish government has in recent weeks been trying to win public support for a planned package of reforms to boost the rights of its Kurdish community and encourage the PKK rebels to lay down arms.

No details of the reforms have been released, but the government has already announced that it has no plans for a general amnesty for Kurdish rebels.