Then F-16 jets equipped with LANTIRN belonging to the 181st Squadron (Pars Filo) and F-4E 2020 Terminator jets belonging to the 171st Squadron (Korsan Filo) began bombing the PKK's positions in northern Iraq, which lasted 45 minutes. In the meantime, Heron MALE UAVs were used for gaining reconnaissance data regarding the PKK's positions, and about 1000 Turkish commandos entered 8 kilometers into northern Iraq from the border area near Derecik (Şemdinli) in pursuit of the PKK militants. On April 26, 2008, at around 06:00 am, a second aerial strike by the jets of the Turkish Air Force from Diyarbakır Air Base took place, in which the PKK militants using the cemetery area in Hakurk as a hideout were bombed. This was followed by another air strike at 10:00 am in the same morning, during which the Turkish Air Force jets entered 30 kilometers into Iraqi air space. 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.