The militants were killed during a security operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Van province, the statement said, without other details.

The PKK said on August 13 it was declaring a truce until September 20, a period that covers the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and a September 12 referendum on constitutional changes.

The rebels have called for a completely new constitution that would recognise the sizeable Kurdish community as a distinct element of Turkey's population and grant it autonomy.

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