The fighting with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) erupted during an operation in a rural area near the town of Dortyol in Hatay province, the provincial governor's office said, Anatolia reported.

It did not say when the clashes took place

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and by much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Fighting usually escalates in spring as snow melts along the mountainous Iraqi-Turkish border, enabling rebels holed up in rough terrain to launch attacks more easily.