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| Iraqi Kurds join fight to break Islamic State siege on Syrian town | Iraqi Kurds join fight to break Islamic State siege on Syrian town |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| ISTANBUL — Fighters from Iraq’s Kurdish region crossed into Syria on Thursday to join other reinforcements seeking to turn back an Islamic State siege that has become a key stand in the international showdown against the militants. | ISTANBUL — Fighters from Iraq’s Kurdish region crossed into Syria on Thursday to join other reinforcements seeking to turn back an Islamic State siege that has become a key stand in the international showdown against the militants. |
| The battle for Kobane — within sight of the Turkish border — also has displayed the complex regional politics at play within the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State. | The battle for Kobane — within sight of the Turkish border — also has displayed the complex regional politics at play within the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State. |
| Kobane has been defended for more than a month by Syrian Kurds, but it took a series of intense negotiations with Turkish and Kurdish officials to finally open a channel for help. | Kobane has been defended for more than a month by Syrian Kurds, but it took a series of intense negotiations with Turkish and Kurdish officials to finally open a channel for help. |
| The first group of Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, moved across the border to reach Kobane, activist said. About 150 peshmerga — carrying anti-tank weapons and other arms — have amassed in Turkey in preparation for entering Kobane. | The first group of Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, moved across the border to reach Kobane, activist said. About 150 peshmerga — carrying anti-tank weapons and other arms — have amassed in Turkey in preparation for entering Kobane. |
| A Kobane-based activist, Musrafa Bali, told the Associated Press that the pesh merga will move into the town in waves because the border crossing point has been targeted by Islamic State fighters. | |
| On Wednesday, a group of 52 Syrian rebels — who have been fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad — arrived in Kobane as part of a battlefield shift to confront the Islamic State. | On Wednesday, a group of 52 Syrian rebels — who have been fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad — arrived in Kobane as part of a battlefield shift to confront the Islamic State. |
| The rebel presence in Kobane was encouraged by Turkey, which wants the fight against the Islamic State to include boosted international support for the anti-Assad forces. | The rebel presence in Kobane was encouraged by Turkey, which wants the fight against the Islamic State to include boosted international support for the anti-Assad forces. |
| While the numbers of reinforcements are small, their movement into Kobane could open an important route for further aid to the town’s defenders — who remain outgunned despite being aided by intensified U.S. airstrikes. | While the numbers of reinforcements are small, their movement into Kobane could open an important route for further aid to the town’s defenders — who remain outgunned despite being aided by intensified U.S. airstrikes. |
| U.S. forces carried out 10 airstrikes on Islamic State targets near Kobane since Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said. | U.S. forces carried out 10 airstrikes on Islamic State targets near Kobane since Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said. |
| The heavy weapons brought by the Iraqi Kurds also could provide critical firepower against Islamic State tanks and armored vehicles, which have been looted during its advances across Syria and Iraq. | The heavy weapons brought by the Iraqi Kurds also could provide critical firepower against Islamic State tanks and armored vehicles, which have been looted during its advances across Syria and Iraq. |
| The Syrian Kurds in Kobane had initially balked at accepting reinforcements from rival Iraqi Kurds but relented, said Idris Naasan, a spokesman for the self-styled Kurdish government in Kobane. | The Syrian Kurds in Kobane had initially balked at accepting reinforcements from rival Iraqi Kurds but relented, said Idris Naasan, a spokesman for the self-styled Kurdish government in Kobane. |
| “This will give legality to the fighters in Kobane, and also the pesh merga will bring us heavy weapons,” said Naasan, speaking from the nearby Turkish border town of Suruc. | “This will give legality to the fighters in Kobane, and also the pesh merga will bring us heavy weapons,” said Naasan, speaking from the nearby Turkish border town of Suruc. |
| Turkey, meanwhile, would prefer that Syrian rebels and Iraqi Kurds control Kobane in the event that the Islamic State advance is thwarted. | Turkey, meanwhile, would prefer that Syrian rebels and Iraqi Kurds control Kobane in the event that the Islamic State advance is thwarted. |
| NATO-member Turkey is wary about encouraging further collaboration among the region’s Kurds — whose ethnic homeland stretches across four nations — as part of the wider fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Turkey has faced an insurgency by its Kurdish population since the 1980s, and the group battling the Islamic State in Kobane is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is behind the unrest in Turkey. | NATO-member Turkey is wary about encouraging further collaboration among the region’s Kurds — whose ethnic homeland stretches across four nations — as part of the wider fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Turkey has faced an insurgency by its Kurdish population since the 1980s, and the group battling the Islamic State in Kobane is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is behind the unrest in Turkey. |
| Kobane lacks strategic significance, but gaining control of Kobane could provide a vital propaganda platform for the extremist group, which would have demonstrated that it could stand up to a concerted U.S. air campaign. The United States initially ignored the jihadist advance on Kobane, handing the Islamic State a key psychological boost, until it became clear that the town would fall without significant outside help. | Kobane lacks strategic significance, but gaining control of Kobane could provide a vital propaganda platform for the extremist group, which would have demonstrated that it could stand up to a concerted U.S. air campaign. The United States initially ignored the jihadist advance on Kobane, handing the Islamic State a key psychological boost, until it became clear that the town would fall without significant outside help. |
| Intensified U.S.-led airstrikes have helped the Kurds hold the town, but a stalemate appears to have settled over the battlefield after the United States recently airdropped weapons to the Kurds. | Intensified U.S.-led airstrikes have helped the Kurds hold the town, but a stalemate appears to have settled over the battlefield after the United States recently airdropped weapons to the Kurds. |
| In an interview with the AP, the political adviser to Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, slammed Turkey for “aggression” by allowing the Syrian rebels to cross into Kobane. | In an interview with the AP, the political adviser to Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, slammed Turkey for “aggression” by allowing the Syrian rebels to cross into Kobane. |
| Murphy reported from Washington. | Murphy reported from Washington. |