ANKARA, June 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Turkish security forces killed nine members of an illegal leftist organization in Tunceli province of eastern Turkey, an official statement said Friday.

    The statement, released by Tunceli Governor's Office, said clashes erupted between the security forces and the terrorists in the rural area in Ovacik town of Tunceli, adding the operation against the terrorists were underway in the region.

    Earlier in the day, two lieutenants of Turkish security forces were killed and four soldiers wounded when a military vehicle crashed into a landmine in eastern Turkey.

    The landmine was planted in Cukurca township in eastern city ofHakkari by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

    Meanwhile, fighting broke out between the Turkish security forces and a group of PKK militants in rural areas between Gurpinar and Baskale towns of Van province in eastern Turkey Friday, leaving two PKK members dead.

    The PKK with 4,000-5,000 militants has been fighting since 1984for a Kurdish state covering southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and parts of Iran and Syria.

    Violence subdued significantly after PKK commander Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999, but it was on the rise again after the group called off a unilateral ceasefire in 2004.

    The Turkish government refuses to negotiate with the group, terming it as a terrorist organization. Enditem