Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Turkiye announced that it eliminated more than 500 PKK members.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that almost all PKK fighters from the Zab region in northern Iraq were neutralized.

"506 terrorists have been neutralized since Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock," Akar told reporters.

He explained that a 302-kilometer line along the Iraqi border had been secured.

About 600 caves and shelters and 2,000 mines and handmade explosives in the region were destroyed, according to Akar.

Some 1,174 weapons and 533,275 ammunition were seized, he said.

The Minister pointed out that Ankara respects all neighboring countries, especially Iraq and Syria, and the Claw operation aims to defend and secure Turkiye.

The Turkish military has regularly attacked the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in the mountains of northern Iraq, where several thousand militants are believed to be holed up.

Since the first incidents between Turkey and the Kurdish militants more than three decades ago, about 40,000 lives have been lost.

In 2020, Turkey launched operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in the border regions of northern Iraq to "ensure the safety of the Turkish people and frontiers."

In 2022, Ankara launched an action called "Operation Claw Lock" to "prevent terror attacks" and ensure border security following an assessment that the PKK was planning a large-scale attack.

PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union