Two soldiers were also wounded in the clash which erupted late Thursday during a security operation in the countryside near the village of Kopuzlar, the statement said.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has stepped up its attacks this year.

The army has launched a large-scale crackdown against the group in the east and southeast of the country and amassed troops on the border with Iraq, where the militants take refuge.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.