The explosion occurred in a wooded area in the province of Bitlis during a security sweep against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the report said.

Landmines and home-made bombs are frequently used by PKK militants who have been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984.

Some 45,000 people have been killed in the conflict with the PKK, blacklisted as a "terrorist organization" by Turkey and much of the international community.

Last week, nine soldiers were killed in Diyarbakir, the principal province in the region, when their armoured personnel carrier hit a home-made bomb believed to have been planted by Kurdish rebels.

Ankara says some 2,000 rebels use neighbouring northern Iraq as a spring board for attacks on Turkish targets across the border and Turkish warplanes have been hitting rebels hideouts there since October 2007.