Three soldiers and two Kurdish rebels have been killed in two separate clashes in south-eastern Turkey, authorities said today.

Local authorities said the three soldiers were killed in an overnight clash near the city of Tunceli.

And two rebels were killed in a police raid in the city of Sirnak late yesterday. Two officers were injured in the operation.

Kurdish rebels have been fighting for autonomy in the largely Kurdish south-east.

The Turkish government deployed anti-terror police officers in the area last year to help minimise the losses of military conscripts in the fighting against the rebels.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since the rebels took up arms in 1984.

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