A spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has condemned Saturday's attack by Kurdish Workers' Party forces on a Turkish military border post that left 38 dead.

The spokesman expressed Ban's "deepest sympathies with the government and people of Turkey in the face of terrorist violence."

He urged "continued cooperation between the governments of Turkey and Iraq to address this threat and to promote peace and stability along their border."

The attack took place on the Aktutun border post in the south- eastern province of Hakkari. Fifteen Turkish soldiers and 23 PKK fighters died.

According to Turkish media reports, the border post was attacked by 350 PKK fighters using heavy weapons, leading to the high number of casualties on the Turkish side. Turkish fighter jets have bombed suspected PKK bases in northern Iraq several times in recent weeks.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and US. It has been fighting for independence or greater autonomy for the Kurdish parts of Turkey since the 1980s.

The Turkish army says that at least 35,000 people have died in the fighting since then.