ANKARA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,222 militants have been "neutralized" since the beginning of Turkey's "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin region, the military said in a statement Thursday.

The Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in reference to enemies who surrendered, captured or killed.

These militants mainly belong to the Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Islamic State (IS), the statement said.

Since the launch of the operation, the Turkish army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have liberated 116 locations including one of Afrin's five towns, 88 villages, 20 settlements in mountains, it added.

The Turkish police and gendarmerie special forces entered the Afrin region to prepare for urban warfare, Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said Monday.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched "Operation Olive Branch" to clear YPG militants from Afrin in northwestern Syria, as Ankara considers the YPG the Syrian affiliates of the PKK, a terrorist organization listed by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.