The conflict occured Thursday night in Beytulsebap, near Sirnak province in the southeast, when Kurdish rebels attacked security teams, said the sources.

Three people were injured, they said, adding that the operation was continuing.

Clashes between Kurdish rebels and security forces have escalated recently, causing civilian deaths.

Last week, a bomb attack carried out by a radical Kurdish group which Turkey says is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rocked the centre of Turkish capital Ankara, killing three people and injuring at least 15.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.