Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has pledged to “wipe out” Kurdish PKK rebels in their strongholds after a deadly bomb attack on the Turkish army, the BBC reports.

“The mountains of this country, the plains, highlands, cities will be not abandoned to terrorists,” he said.

At least 16 Turkish soldiers died in Sunday’s attack in the south-eastern Hakkari province, the army said.

In retaliation, Turkey carried out several air strikes on PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) targets on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Mr Davutoglu said: “You cannot discourage us from our war on terror. Those mountains will be cleared of these terrorists. Whatever it takes, they will be cleared.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said he was saddened by the attack and promised a “decisive” response.

“The pain of our security forces who were martyred in the treacherous attack by the separatist terrorist organisation sears our hearts,” he said.

There has been a surge in violence between the army and the PKK after a ceasefire collapsed in July.

The PKK said it was behind the attack. Initially it said 15 soldiers had been killed, but later raised the figure to 31.

But the Turkish army said on Monday that 16 soldiers died, while six were injured.