The explosion occurred during a security sweep of farmland near the southeastern town of Semdinli, close to Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran.

The operation was launched Monday shortly after another mine blast, blamed on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), killed one soldier and wounded three others.

The explosions came after a routine lull in fighting between the army and PKK rebels in winter when snow makes the mountainous terrain in the country's southeast inaccesible.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has often used mines since it took up arms against the government in 1984 for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The conflict has claimed the lives of some 45,000 people, according to a Turkish army tally.