The government order cited national security concerns.

The prime minister can, by law, stop certain broadcasts "in situations in which national security clearly requires it or in which public order is strongly likely to be disrupted."

RTUK cited a letter by Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, who is also the government spokesman, ordering a ban on "broadcasts related to the terrorist attack likely to have negative impact on public order and morale... by creating an impression of weakness concerning the security forces."

Militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) ambushed a military unit near the Iraqi border on Sunday, killing 12 troops and capturing eight others.

The army confirmed Monday that the soldiers were missing and said 34 PKK militants had been killed in ensuing clashes in the region.

Ankara has threatened a military incursion into northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases, if Baghdad and Washington fail to purge the rebels from the region.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has waged a bloody 23-year campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.