"More than 30 of the terrorists were rendered ineffective," said a statement on the website of the Turkish General Staff, referring to fighters of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Media reports said at least 30 rebels were killed in the incident on Tuesday.

The statement said "a large group of terrorists" had been detected preparing to attack the outpost on the Iraqi border in southeast Turkey. The military responded with tank, artillery and heavy weapons fire.

"The terrorist group was pursued by fire as it fled into Iraqi territory," the statement said. "Intelligence gathered from regional and other sources revealed that more than 30 terrorists were rendered ineffective."

Search operations in the region are continuing, it said.

It was the second confirmed attack in three days by the PKK against Turkish troops near the Iraqi border, after the ambush Sunday of a patrol that left 12 soldiers dead and eight taken prisoner.

Military operations continued against PKK positions in neighboring Sirnak province, also on the border with Iraq, the Anatolia news agency reported.

It said troops backed by pro-government Kurdish "village guard" militia were sweeping the Incebel, Kupeli, Gabbar and Kato mountains with air support as F-16 fighter jets from the Diyarbakir air base flew sorties along the Iraqi border.

The search operations resulted in "PKK bunkers containing weapons and provisions being destroyed," Anatolia reported.

Units supported by armored vehicles are constantly sweeping military and public roads for mines as more men and materiel are deployed in the region, Anatolia said.

Tension has been building up along the Turkish-Iraqi frontier since the parliament here last week authorized the government to send troops into northern Iraq to wipe out PKK bases there.

The PKK markedly increased its attacks over the past few months, inflicting some of its heaviest casualties to Turkish troops based there since the start of its armed separatist armed campaign in 1984.