(KUNA) -- Two Turkish soldiers were severely injured in clashes with rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Turkish military sources said on Wednesday. A statement by the Turkish Chief of Staff headquarters said that two soldiers were injured when PKK's rebels opened fire on a Turkish patrol in Gentish town in the Bingol region. The Turkish military reinforced its presence in the region and chased away the rebels, the statement added.The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union, has stepped up its military activity this year. The group has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish areas in the east and southeast since 1984 in a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.