Ankara - Eleven Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels were killed by Turkish forces in an operation in the south-eastern province of Hakkari on Tuesday night, the Turkish General Staff reported on Wednesday.

In a statement posted on its website said the rebels were killed in clashes after various mountainous regions in the province were closed off to civilians and troops backed by helicopter gunships moved in on suspected PKK positions.

The report comes a day after the General Staff announced on Tuesday that 22 PKK guerrillas had been killed in operations between 11 and 14 July in the south-east province of Sirnak.

Ankara blames the separatist group for the deaths of more than 32,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.

The PKK is considered by the United States and the European Union to be a terrorist group. (dpa)