The statement posted on the army's Internet website said the six were members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union -- and were killed between May 1 and 11, but did not specify where the clashes took place.

The army also said 14 rebels had been arrested and another seven had surrendered.

Turkish media in the past few days has reported a surge in the army's operations in the southeast of the country where there is a majority Kurdish population.

The PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire last October but Turkish authorities rejected it.

More than 37,000 people have been killed since the PKK started its fight for independence from Ankara in 1984.