Thousands of people have demonstrated in the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul to denounce a Kurdish rebel attack last week that killed 13 soldiers.

Turkish media report that the protesters carried Turkish flags and chanted slogans against the rebels.

Turkish officials say Kurdish militants killed 13 soldiers and wounded seven others Thursday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir. Seven rebels also died in the fighting.

The attack was the deadliest on Turkish troops in more than three years.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party has been fighting for an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict between Turkish forces and the rebels has left about 40,000 people dead.