This Article is From Dec 03, 2014

New Peshmerga Group Enters Kobane From Turkey

New Peshmerga Group Enters Kobane From Turkey

Map showing Turkey and Syria

Istanbul, Turkey: A second contingent of Kurdish peshmerga fighters streamed across the Syrian border from Turkey late Monday to join the fight against jihadists for the strategic town of Kobane, state media said.

Some 150 peshmerga passed through the Mursitpinar border crossing to reinforce Syrian Kurds in the battle against Islamic State (IS) militants for the town, the official Anatolia news agency said.

Kobane, besieged by IS jihadists for more than two months, is just south of the border.

Peshmerga fighters were flown out of Arbil on a private plane under tight security and landed at GAP Airport in the southeastern Turkish province of Sanliurfa late Monday.

The fighters, who will reportedly replace exhausted peshmerga currently defending Kobane, are equipped with the latest weapons and ammunition, Anatolia said.

Turkey, under fire from the West for its lack of support for the US-led campaign against IS, allowed the first contingent of Iraqi peshmerga -- also including 150 fighters -- to transit Turkish soil to defend the town in late October.

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