At least two Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas were killed in a gunfight with Turkish security forces late yesterday, officials said.
The rebels were killed and two others were apprehended while transporting logistical equipment in the Black Sea province of Gumushane, according to the state-run Anatolian news agency, citing a statement from the governor's office.
Turkish security forces speaking on condition of anonymity said three rebels were killed in the firefight.
A military operation in the region supported by helicopters was underway, the agency said.
Clashes between the army and the PKK has escalated in the recent weeks after the rebels called off a one-year, unilateral ceasefire and as warmer weather in mountanious eastern Turkey makes it easier for the rebels to move about.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the region. More than 40,000 people have died in the conflict.
Reuters