The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) truce, announced for the holy month of Ramadan, was due to have expired on Monday.

The PKK's armed wing said in a statement it would announce next week a decision on the fate of the ceasefire but it would remain in place until then, the news agency reported.

"The truce that we declared on August 13 ends today. Despite the violence, it is nonetheless important," the statement said, underlining that it remained in force.

The PKK, classified as a terrorist group by Ankara and many Western governments, took up arms in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Attacks continued during the truce, with the most deadly on Thursday last week when a landmine blew up a minibus in the country's southeast, killing nine people. It was one of the bloodiest attacks on civilians in recent years.

Turkish authorities said the PKK was responsible but the militants denied involvement as they often do in incidents that cause civilian casualties.