The skirmishes took place at Silvan, located in the Kurdish majority province of Diyarbakir.

One of the rebels killed was a regional chief of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), officials said.

The armed rebel PKK has stepped up attacks against Turkish security forces over the past few months. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

More than 37,000 people have died since the start of the PKK separatist insurrection in 1984.