The rebel was killed overnight after paramilitary troops found a group of rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a mountainous area in the eastern province of Kars, the army said in a statement.

Several militants were wounded but managed to flee, Kars Governor Ahmet Kara told Anatolia news agency, adding that the security operation in the region continued Saturday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has this month dramatically stepped up its violent 26-year campaign for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast.

In a separate incident, security forces Friday seized a bag containing about eight kilogrammes (17 pounds) of plastic explosives and detained a man in an operation at a train station in the eastern city of Malatya, the military said.

The bag was discovered inside a passenger train, according to Anatolia.

The army did not say whether the suspect was linked to the PKK, but it announced the incident in a section of its website listing operations against the group.

After the suspect's initial interrogation, paramilitary troops stopped and searched another train in neighbouring Sivas province, Anatolia said.

Kurdish rebels claimed responsibility Tuesday for a remote-control roadside bomb that hit a bus carrying army personnel in Istanbul, killing four soldiers and the teenage daughter of an officer.

The PKK has threatened to spread violence to urban areas after a wave of deadly attacks on the security forces in remote regions in the southeast.

The group took up arms against Ankara in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed around 45,000 lives.