Turkey paraded its military muscle Monday, amid stern warnings from Baghdad that any large-scale Turkish incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq would have "disastrous" results.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad wonders if Turkey will go ahead with an incursion against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.
Helicopter gunships bombed Kurdish rebel positions in southeast Turkey on Monday and the government flexed its military muscle with big national day parades and flypasts in major cities.
In a corner of northern Iraq, Kurdish militants fighting Turkey thrive, protected by mountains and a complex web of relationships.
Turkish attack helicopters fired rockets at Kurdish rebel positions in mountains near the Iraq border Monday, in one of several clashes between government forces and the guerrillas as Turkey celebrated its 84th anniversary as a republic.
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 shook southwest Turkey on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The 100,000 Turkish troops massing near the border with Iraq is a palpable presence here in the predominantly Kurdish towns of southeastern Turkey.
ANKARA -- Modern Turkey marked its 84th anniversary Monday with military parades and national celebrations as its powerful army readied to launch operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a move threatened once Ankara exhausts efforts to find a "satisfactory" diplomatic solution.
Protests that began following the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers in a treacherous PKK ambush in Hakkari are continuing throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets to damn terror in Turkey and throughout Europe in a show of determination to the rest of the world.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari was quoted on Monday as warning of disastrous regional consequences if Turkey launched a major invasion of Iraq to strike at Kurdish rebels.