Turkish soldiers have killed 26 Kurdish rebels in two days in an offensive involving over 2,000 troops, as well as F-16 fighter planes operating on both sides of the Turkey-Iraq border, Reuters reported citing security sources.

The operation against the rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began in Sirnak, a southeasterly province bordering Iraq and Syria and the site of frequent clashes between rebels and Turkish troops.

This summer has been one of the bloodiest in Turkey since the PKK took up arms against the state in 1984 with the aim of carving out a Kurdish state.

Turkish security sources told Reuters on Friday, Sept 7, that 26 militants had been killed since the start of the offensive.

"The intense operation is continuing," the sources said.

The operation has largely focused on Kato mountain, a remote area of Sirnak, but Turkish security sources as well as Iraqi residents said planes had bombed areas inside northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

There were no reports that Turkish ground troops had crossed the border into northern Iraq, although Turkey has sent soldiers into the region in the past.