150 PESHMERGAS ENTER SYRIA’S KOBANI

Damascus, 12 Safar 1436/6 December 2014M (MINA) – A new group of 150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces has entered Syria’s city of Kobani through Turkey, replacing the first batch helping Kurdish forces against Takfiri ISIL militants, Peshmerga sources say.

A Peshmerga source said on Thursday that the Kurdish fighters entered Kobani late on Tuesday. Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Thursday.

Referring to the Iraqi Kurdish forces who had entered the besieged city in early November, the Peshmerga source said, “The first group has left Kobani and is en route to the airport right now.”

Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have been fighting off an offensive by the ISIL in Kobani since nearly three months ago, have embraced the support of the Peshmerga fighters.

Under pressure for its refusal to allow Kurdish reinforcements to cross its border into Syria, Ankara allowed passage to the first group of Iraqi Peshmergas into Syria in late October.

According to reports, the intense fighting for the strategic city of Kobani has forced over 200,000 people to take refuge in neighboring Turkey.
The ISIL controls some parts of Syria and Iraq. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

Since late September, the US and its allies have been conducting airstrikes against the ISIL inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

Washington has also been carrying out similar air raids against ISIL positions in Iraq since August. However, the raids have so far failed to dislodge the ISIL. (T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)