Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) struck at a military post in Eruh town of Siirt province, they said. A counter attack was launched following the incident.

The wounded troops were transferred to nearby hospitals.

The attack follows similar assaults in Turkey's Kurdish dominated southeast, where at least six more soldiers were killed during the week in separate clashes.

They come against the backdrop of a major Turkish ground and air offensive, one of the biggest in years, to drive out the rebels in Semdinli town of southeastern Hakkari province on the border with Iraq.

Turkish media reported Thursday that close to 1,000 villagers were evacuated from Semdinli town to avoid civilian casualties, and Turkish military was keeping the zone sealed off for security reasons.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.