The rebels were killed late Thursday in the mountainous province of Tunceli, where clashes since Wednesday have claimed the lives of six other PKK militants and three soldiers.

About 1,500 members of the army's special forces were participating in the clampdown on the PKK in the region, backed by helicopter gunships, local officials said.

The two soldiers were wounded when rebels detonated a remote-control landmine.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, notably stepped up attacks in the east and the southeast this year.

The army has reinforced its units in the region and amassed troops on the border with Iraq, where the militants take refuge.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority region in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.