The clashes erupted in the mountainous province of Tunceli as soldiers came across militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the governor's office said in a statement, according to Anatolia.

Operations against the PKK, backed by air cover, continued in the region, the agency said.

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, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

In February, the rebels threatened to end a unilateral truce, declared in August last year, while saying they would defend themselves "more effectively" against military operations.