Five PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in southeastern Turkey, according to the National Defense Ministry on Monday.

In a Twitter post, the ministry said: "4 PKK terrorists, who escaped from the (PKK's) shelter areas in northern Iraq and Syria, have surrendered to our border post in Silopi (district of Şırnak province), and 1 PKK/YPG terrorist to our border post in Kızıltepe (district of Mardin province)."

The dissolution of the PKK has been progressing, according to the tweet.

Turkish security forces regularly conduct counterterrorism operations in the eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey, where the PKK has attempted to establish a strong presence and base. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also carries out cross-border operations in northern Iraq where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases that they use to carry out attacks on Turkey.

Turkish counterterrorism operations intensified after July 2018 and have become routine since the beginning of another extensive campaign, Operation Claw, which was launched on May 27 and aimed to entirely eliminate the presence of the terrorist organization in northern Iraq.

On July 13, the TSK launched Operation Claw-2 as a follow up to the successful Claw-1. As in the first, the second phase of the operation also included deployments to northern Iraq's Hakurk region and aimed to continue to destroy weapon placements and shelters used by PKK terrorists.

Operation Claw-3, the third phase of the original operation, was initiated on Aug. 23 in the Sinat-Haftanin region of northern Iraq. The operation was launched to facilitate border security, eliminate the presence of terrorists, and destroy terrorist caves and shelters in the region.

The number of terrorists in the country has declined to nearly 500 for the first time due to effective anti-terror operations and strategies, the Interior Ministry announced this month.

Underling that Turkey has made important gains in its war on terror in the last three years, the ministry noted that more than 1,100 terrorists surrendered on their own during this period.

Over the course of its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.