On May 1, 2008, at least 30 jets of the Turkish Air Force bombed the PKK camps in northern Iraq. The operation began just before midnight and continued into Friday, May 2, 2008. According to Turkish military sources, the PKK targets that were bombed are far from civilian settlements, at the mountains of the Qandil (Kandil) area. On May 3, the Turkish General Staff announced that more than 150 PKK militants have been neutralized in the latest operation, which targeted the camps in the Qandil Mountains, where most of the high-ranking members of the organization are located. The Turkish General Staff, without giving a precise name, implied that the PKK rebels who were neutralized may also include a guerilla who leads the organization as well; leading the Turkish press to speculate that Murat Karayilan might have also been killed during the latest aerial strikes.