The death near Nusaybin, a town in the Mardin region bordering Syria, came as troops uncovered the still-armed bodies of seven PKK members during a search around neighbouring Diyarbakir.

The militants did not appear to have died fighting, separate security sources said, suggesting they may have been killed in an internal dispute or in a PKK execution. An inquiry has been launched.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the Turkish government, the European Union and the United States, announced a unilateral ceasefire in October 2006.

Ankara rejected it but the fighting, which has seen more than 37,000 people killed since the PKK's armed campaign began in 1984, has reduced since then.