Turkish troops killed six armed Kurdish guerrillas in a clash in the south-east of the country, the state news agency reported today.
One Turkish soldier was also killed, according to the Anatolia agency.
The clash broke out in the predominantly Kurdish province of Tunceli when a group of rebels opened fire on the soldiers, ignoring calls for them to surrender, it was reported.
The deaths bring to 23 the number of guerrillas killed in the past 10 days in clashes in the region. Eleven soldiers have also been killed in fighting in the same period.
Last week, the head of Turkey's armed forces said several large-scale offensives against the rebels had been launched in the south-east of the country, and requested permission to launch an operation into northern Iraq to attack the guerrillas at their bases there.
Close to 40,000 people have died in fighting since autonomy-seeking rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.