KOBANE, Syria – Forces from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will withdraw from Kobane on Tuesday night, leaving the battle-scarred town under the protection of the Kurdish Protection Units (YPG), a Peshmerga commander in Kobane said. After seven months of struggle to drive ISIS out of the ethnically Kurdish Syrian town and nearby villages, the Kurdistan Ministry of Peshmerga has decided to bring its forces home. Since the counter-attack on ISIS last year, the Peshmerga have fought alongside YPG fighters in the region collectively known in Kurdish as Rojava. “The decision of withdrawal is requested by Ministry of Peshmerga. We will come back to Kurdistan tonight,” Talaat Zerari, a Kurdish Peshmerga commander told Rudaw on Tuesday. Zerari said a number of troops will travel home with the military equipment and vehicles. “We have 124 people. Twelve will come back with the military vehicles, the rest of us will fly home," he added. The Kurdish populated town of Kobane was overrun by ISIS in September and much of the town has been distroyed. The city has become a symbol of Kurdish resistance, after a combined force of Kurdish YPG fighters and Peshmerga troops – backed by coalition air power – forced ISIS to retreat and abandon efforts to capture the city. Kurdish forces declared the city liberated on January 26. The first Peshmerga brigade left Erbil, capital of Kurdistan region, for Kobane in October 28. It has followed by three more brigades over the last seven months. Causalities among the four Peshmerga brigades have been reported, but the number is unconfirmed at this time.
