DIYARBAKIR, Turkey. May 4: Turkish security forces have killed 42 Kurdish separatists and lost seven members in the last three days of violent clashes in the troubled southeast. government officials said, reports AFP.

In a related development, Defence Minister Turhan Tayan said Turkish troops could enter northern Iraq to hunt down rebels as part of a hot pursuit agreement with Baghdad.

Government troops have killed 23 members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in fighting in the mountainous province of Sirnak near the Iraqi border since Thursday, the southeast's regional governor said here in a statement.

Three pro-government Kurdish village guards were also killed in the ongoing clash in which the troops were supported by military helicopters and aircraft, it said.

Nineteen other PKK members and four troops were killed in fighting in the provinces of Siirt, Batman and Hakkari.