Peshmerga Convoy Crosses Turkish Border To Enter Kobani

The peshmerga convoy heading to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani has crossed the Turkish border gate late on Friday to help assist Kurdish groups fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants, Turkish officials told The Anadolu Agency.



The convoy carrying peshmerga troops and their weaponry crossed the Yumurtalik border gate, located in Suruc district of southeastern province of Sanliurfa on Friday.



"At the time of the crossing, the warplanes of the US-led coalition launched airstrikes in the besieged Syrian town of Kobani," an AA correspondent reported from the Suruc district.  



Turkish security forces prevented members of the press from taking footage of the convoy's crossing of the border. 



Early on Wednesday, a first batch of peshmerga forces from Erbil had landed in a private plane at Turkey's GAP Airport. They were then stationed in the Suruc district of the Turkish province of Sanliurfa. 



A truck convoy carrying Kobani-bound peshmerga troops and heavy weaponry had also entered Turkey in the southeastern province of Sirnak on Wednesday via the Habur border gate.



The battle for control of the strategic town between ISIL militants and armed Kurdish groups has been raging since mid-September when ISIL entered Kobani. 



An estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including some 190,000 from Kobani, are being sheltered in camps across Turkey after fleeing the fighting.



Turkey has been pushing the international community, including the U.N., to establish a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees inside Syria near the Turkish border.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Şanlıurfa