The fighting Sunday was near Bestler-Dereler in Sirnak province, close to Turkey's border with Syria and Iraq, a communique from the provincial governor said, noting that army operations in the area were continuing.

The Turkish media reported last week that thousands of additional troops had been deployed in the southeast and along the borders with Iraq and Iran to intensify operations against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, who have stepped up attacks in the region.

Some newspapers have suggested that recent deployments have brought the total number of troops in the region to 50,000, while others have put the figure at more than 150,000.

Violence in the southeast has increased markedly since June 2004, when the PKK called off its five-year truce and the rebels started to cross the Iraqi border for attacks on Turkish soil.

Rebel infiltrations usually increase in spring as snow melts and the mountainous terrain becomes more accessible.

More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984, when the PKK, blacklisted by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms for self-rule in the southeast.