Peshmerga Convoy İn Turkey On İts Way To Kobani

The peshmerga convoy, which has been waiting at the Turkish border for the past two days, is headed to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani to assist Kurdish groups fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to an AA reporter.



Turkish security officers tightened safety measures and closed the route to traffic as the convoy headed towards the Mursitpinar border gate located in Suruc district.



"The peshmerga troops are expected to enter Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, after official procedures are complete at the border gate," an AA correspondent reported from Suruc.  



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