Ankara - Ten Kurdish separatists were reportedly killed in clashes with Turkish security forces in south-east Turkey early on Friday morning, the Dogan news agency reported.

A military operation was launched late Thursday night after thermal cameras discovered a group of around 25 Kurdish Worker Party (PKK) guerrillas on Mount Kato in the south-eastern Turkey province of Sirnak.

Turkish soldiers called on the group to surrender when they were found at around 4 a. m. (0100 GMT) Friday morning and were then fired upon, Dogan reported.

Ten PKK guerrillas and one Turkish state-employed village guard were killed in the clash.

The fighting comes as the Turkish military is searching for three German mountaineers kidnapped by PKK separatists on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey earlier in the week.

Ground operations in the area backed by air support were continuing. (dpa)