The fighting in the rural Bingol province near the town of Genc left two more soldiers injured, the source added.

On Monday morning three "village guards" -- Kurdish militiamen armed by the Turkish government to fight the separatist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) -- were wounded in fighting in the same area.

The Turkish army has intensified operations against the PKK since December, including air raids on rebel bases and operations in northern Iraq, where Ankara estimates around 2,000 Kurdish rebels are holding out.

Last Friday and Saturday Turkey used planes and artillery to pound Kurdish positions in the Iraqi mountains.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 to fight for independence for south east Anatolya, in a conflict which has so far claimed more than 37,000 lives.