ANKARA, April 16. /TASS/. At least four Turkish soldiers were wounded as a result of mortar shelling of a Turkish military base in northern Syria by Kurdish militants, the Turkish defense ministry said on Sunday.

"As a result of mortar shelling opened by militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party at our bases in the area of the Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield operations, four soldiers were wounded. They were taken to a hospital in the Kilis province. Powerful response strikes were delivered at terrorist goals," it said.

Turkey brands the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and its Syrian arm (Self-Defense Forces) as major threats to national security. The conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has continued since 1987, with the Turkish army regularly conducting operations against Kurdish militants in regions bordering Iraq and Syria and in neighboring countries.