10 Iraqi peshmerga fighters have crossed into the besieged town of Kobani, in Syria near the border with Turkey. Another 140 peshmerga are expected to arrive to try to help Kurdish fighters break the siege of the town. (Oct. 30) AP
Ten Iraqi peshmerga fighters entered the battered Syrian border town of Kobani on Thursday to combat the Islamic State's drive to control the key crossing along the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The peshmerga presence represents a major step in the battle for Kobani — they are the first foreign soldiers to join the fray. The Syrian Kurdish city's defense has been anchored by local Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and U.S.-led airstrikes.
"Reliable sources reported to SOHR that 10 elements from the peshmerga forces have entered the city of Kobani through the border crossing that links the city of Kobani with the Turkish territories," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on its Facebook page, adding more fighters were expected to enter the city shortly.
SOHR did not say how many more fighters were preparing to cross in from Turkey. Kobani-based activist Mustafa Bani told the Associated Press the 10 were the first of about 150 massing along the border.
The group was bound for a battle that has dragged on for more than a month in the city where both sides have tried to lay claim to victory in recent days.
Turkey has been under pressure — from Kurds in Turkey as well as the West — to support the struggle against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. The Turkish government agreed to let the fighters cross through its territory, but is only allowing the peshmerga forces from Iraq. Turkey remains at odds with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which for decades led an armed struggle for Kurdish political and cultural self-determination in Turkey.
In Damascus, President Bashar Assad's administration was not enthusiastic about Turkey's participation, accusing Turkish leaders of Turkey of committing "aggression" by allowing rebels to cross into Kobani.
The Kurdish news outlet Rudaw also reported that 200 Free Syrian Army fighters had entered Kobani at the request of the YPG.
"We had coordination with YPG to enter the city," Abdul Jabbar al-Ageddi, the Free Syrian Army's general commander in Kobani, told Rudaw. "It's also expected in the near future that a larger number of us go, but for the current situation — given the difficulty of moving inside the city — this number of forces is sufficient."
Al-Ageddi added the Free Syrian Army fighters were lightly armed: "The weapons that we have are not heavy, as they consist of simple missiles, Kalashnikovs (rifles) and rocket-propelled grenades."
The Islamic State in recent days has repeatedly claimed it has essentially taken control of Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city of about 50,000 people. The militants released a video over the weekend featuring hostage and British journalist John Cantlie delivering a simulated news report from Kobani. Cantlie, possibly reading from a script, scoffed at claims by Western media that the Islamic State is losing ground.
Cantlie says on the video that the insurgents "are mopping up now, street to street, and building to building."
The Islamic State militants, seizing the opportunity presented by beleaguered governments in Iraq and Syria, have been waging war aimed at building an arch-conservative Sunni state across a swath of the two nations. The U.S.-led airstrikes directed at stemming the ISIL advance began in August, targeting Iraq. They soon expanded into Syria, with a growing number of nations joining the coalition.
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