Ankara - Two soldiers and two members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in clashes in south-eastern Turkey, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported. 

An army officer and two rebels died in the province of Bingol, where troops discovered an arms cache and communications equipment, while a soldier was killed in Sirnak province. 

The PKK wants the army to end its military operations against the group, which is considered by the United States and the European Union to be a terrorist organization. 

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. 

Last week, PKK rebels kidnapped three German climbers in a raid on a 3,200-metre camp on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. (dpa)