ANKARA, Oct 16: Turkish troops and Kurdish separatist rebels clashed on Thursday, in an upsurge of fighting the military said had killed five people on each side.

A spokesman for the rebels based in Iraq said they had shot down a Turkish helicopter on the Turkish side of the border with Iraq on Wednesday. The Turkish military said it crashed because of technical failure, killing a soldier and wounding 15.

Turkish government and military are under increasing pressure to respond forcefully to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas, who have stepped up deadly attacks against Turkish security forces in recent weeks.

The general staff said four soldiers died when PKK rebels opened fire on them in remote mountains in the province of Hakkari, near the border with Iraq.

The helicopter, carrying reinforcements to the scene, crashed due for technical reasons, it said in a statement.—Reuters