ERBIL/SYRIAN-TURKISH BORDER - Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga troops entered into the battle for the besieged city of Kobane in earnest on Sunday, as the sound of heavy weaponry they brought with them from Iraq echoed across the Syrian-Turkish border, according to a Rudaw team on the Turkish side.
US-led coalition planes pounded Islamic State (ISIS) positions in the city overnight in the most intense bombing in weeks, with local witnesses counting between five and seven strikes between 10pm Saturday and 7am Sunday. Planes hit another ISIS position late Sunday morning, which was followed by fierce Kurdish gunfire nearby.
Sources within the Peshmerga confirmed that Kurdish Region troops had deployed to various positions within the city accompanying People’s Protection Units (PYD), the Syrian Kurdish force that resisted the militants alone for two weeks without airstrikes, and six weeks without help on the ground.
Meanwhile hundreds of civilians fleeing the fighting were seen on the border. The Turkish military prevented a number of people from delivering food, water, and other supplies to the crowd as they waited to cross.
A large number of cars could also be seen, as many refugees entering Turkey with cars were not able to pay the automobile toll, which costs $700 according to several Kobane residents.
US-led coalition planes pounded Islamic State (ISIS) positions in the city overnight in the most intense bombing in weeks, with local witnesses counting between five and seven strikes between 10pm Saturday and 7am Sunday. Planes hit another ISIS position late Sunday morning, which was followed by fierce Kurdish gunfire nearby.
Sources within the Peshmerga confirmed that Kurdish Region troops had deployed to various positions within the city accompanying People’s Protection Units (PYD), the Syrian Kurdish force that resisted the militants alone for two weeks without airstrikes, and six weeks without help on the ground.
Meanwhile hundreds of civilians fleeing the fighting were seen on the border. The Turkish military prevented a number of people from delivering food, water, and other supplies to the crowd as they waited to cross.
A large number of cars could also be seen, as many refugees entering Turkey with cars were not able to pay the automobile toll, which costs $700 according to several Kobane residents.
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