ANKARA, July 5, 2008 (AFP) - The Turkish military said Saturday its soldiers had killed two separatist Kurdish rebels in clashes in the southeast of the country.

The fighting erupted Friday during a security sweep against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in a mountainous region in Hakkari province, which borders Iraq and Iran, the general staff said in a statement on its Internet site.

The troops also seized 46 guns and various equipment and documents belonging to the rebel group, it added.

Turkey has stepped up military action against the PKK since December, carrying out air strikes plus a week-long ground incursion in February into northern Iraq, where it says more than 2,000 PKK rebels have taken refuge.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and several Western countries, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-populated east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.