The soldiers were killed by fire from "the separatist terror organisation", it added, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.

"Operations continue in the region," the ministry said.

Turkey launched cross-border Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to eradicate members of the PKK holed up in mountainous areas along the frontier.

On Wednesday, separate Turkish drone strikes killed two PKK members in northern Iraq, officials in the autonomous Kurdistan region said, following a similar incident Sunday.

The PKK has waged an insurgency in Turkey since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Ankara maintains dozens of military bases in northern Iraq where it regularly launches operations against PKK fighters.