The soldiers were on watch outside the station, in a rural area in Batman province, when they came under fire from of a group of militants from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) late Tuesday, the sources said.

The PKK has dramatically stepped up violence since its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan said through his lawyers in May he was abandoning efforts to seek dialogue with Ankara.

Three soldiers and 12 PKK militants were killed in clashes Tuesday.

Ankara rejects dialogue with the rebels, insisting they should either surrender or face the army.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.