200 Iraqi Kurdish fighters to be sent to Kobane

Uğur Ergan ANKARA

A Peshmerga fighter holds a position at a post in the strategic Jalawla area, in Diyala province, which is a gateway to Baghdad, as battles with ISIL jihadists continue. AFP Photo

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has decided to send 200 Peshmerga fighters with heavy weapons to Kobane, as a first step after Turkey announced that it would allow Kurdish forces to travel to Syria in order to fight against Islamist jihadists.

The move means that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and the KRG’s Peshmerga forces have reached an agreement, diplomatic sources in Ankara said, describing the decision as an expected development.

KRG lawmakers gathered on Oct. 22 to vote on sending reinforcements to Kobane to hold off the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Kurdish forces have played a leading role in northern Iraq in combating ISIL, which has seized large parts of the country and neighboring Syria, declaring an Islamic “caliphate” in areas under its control.