Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will preside over the meeting, scheduled for 5:00 pm (1400 GMT), to be attended by the foreign and interior ministers as well as the chief of general staff, the source said.

It was unknown whether a statement would be made to the press after the talks.

The army has launched operations in the east and southeast of the country against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have since the advent of spring been crossing into Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq through the mountains.

Since the start of the year, 50 soldiers and 78 rebels have been killed in fighting.

The army is pushing for a military incursion into neighbouring northern Iraq, where PKK rebels enjoy safe haven and, Turkish officials charge, obtain weapons and explosives for attacks on Turkish targets across the border.

But facing general elections on July 22, the government has so far resisted calls for a cross-border operation against the PKK, which is strongly opposed by both Iraq and the United States.

On Monday, thousands of people chanted anti-government slogans at the funerals of three soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels, raising pressure on the government for tougher action against the insurgents.

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