BEIRUT, October 29 (RIA Novosti) — About 40 Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels arrived in Kobani to join the independence defense forces in fighting the Islamic State (IS) militants, a source from Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
According to the source, another group of 150 Kurdish militants, the Peshmerga, is now a few miles from Kobani and will soon enter the city.
Earlier, Iraqi Peshmerga Minister Mustafa Sayid Qader said that the group arriving from Iraq will not engage in direct combat against the IS as its main goal is to provide artillery support to the city of Kobani, one of the largest towns in the Kurdish region of Syria bordering Turkey, which has been under attack by IS militants for over a month.
Heavy fighting is currently ongoing in the southern part of Kobani after IS extremists made an attempt to breach its line of defense Wednesday morning.
The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union representative noted that the FSA currently has a number of aims, which when fulfilled will help the Kurdish self-defense forces defeat the IS. Opening another military front northeast from the Syrian city of Aleppo is among the Free Syrian Army's plans
The IS is a Sunni jihadist group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June, it launched an offensive in Iraq, seizing vast areas in both countries and announcing the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control. The international anti-IS coalition launched by the United States in September is conducting air strikes against the militants both in Syria and Iraq.
