DIYARBAKIR: Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Friday when the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by a remoted-controlled explosive, security sources said.

A third soldier and one civilian were also wounded in the attack, which occurred around 7 am (local time) near the town of Lice in Diyarbakir province, they said.

Security officials blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a 27-year campaign against the Turkish state in which 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have died.

Explosives were buried in a road near military barracks and were set off by remote control when the vehicle carrying soldiers passed, the officials said.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States all list the PKK as a “terrorist” organisation.

The PKK, based mainly in northern Iraq, has scaled back its demands for a Kurdish homeland for Turkey's 14 million Kurds to greater cultural rights and political autonomy.