The rebels were killed in a raid by a unit of elite police, acting on a tip-off, on a house where the two were staying, Anatolia said.

The operation comes after two soldiers and a civilian died in a rebel attack on Thursday also in eastern Turkey, which has seen a surge of violence in recent weeks.

The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has dramatically stepped up violence this month, threatening to spread its attacks outside the Kurdish-majority southeast, its main area of operation.

In Ankara, an army spokesman voiced satisfaction with cooperation between Turkey and the United States against PKK hideouts in Iraq.

"Information sharing between Turkey and the United States is going very well," General Fahri Kir told journalists.

He said US army Predator-type drones were flying over northern Iraq for 15 to 16 hours a day under Turkish control with the Turkish army analysing the images taken by them in real time.