The clash occurred in a mountainous area in Bingol province, the governor's office said in a statement, without specifying when it took place.

Another soldier was injured in the same area when he stepped on a landmine, believed to have been planted by the PKK.

The army said earlier this month that it had launched "large-scale" operations against the PKK with the arrival of spring, when the rebels step up attacks as snow melts in the mountains, facilitating their movement.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.