“Claws” is an attribute of the source image: it evokes the predator. In context it can also help as a clue: death cannot have biological claws, so the listener knows a literal anatomical reading is not intended.
As an attribute: claws point from the stated target toward an unspoken source.
As a clue: their association with death signals that the passage is not reporting physical anatomy.
One expression can carry more than one analytical function without making the technical categories synonyms. Its role should be stated in relation to the question being asked.