Three daily newspapers -- Sabah, Aksam and Yeni Safak -- reported that Karayilan was in one of the PKK camps targetted by Turkish F-16s Sunday and had used his satellite telephone immediately prior to its being attacked.

"Has Karayilan been killed?" asked another daily, Vatan, although it did not provide any source behind the speculation.

The Turkish military has not yet provided a report on the damage inflicted by the strikes, but the pro-PKK press agency Firat said that seven people -- five rebels and two civilians -- were killed during the air raids.

Formerly the right-hand man of the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, Karayilan commands the group's fighters based in northern Iran and represents the hardline wing of the movement.

The PKK, which considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Washington and the European Union -- has an estimated 3,500 fighters in Iraq.

After a series of PKK deadly raids in southern Turkey, Ankara began to hit back on December 1 with a first, limited operation targetting PKK fighters inside Iraq.

Turkey has repeatedly warned Iraq that PKK military operations in the zone under regional Kurdish control must be curbed.

Since the PKK began its fight for self-rule in southeastern Turkey in 1984, more than 37,000 people have died on both the sides.