Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters are on their way to help defend Kobani from ISIS

(Image credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty)

last updated 8 January 2015

Two groups of Kurdish peshmerga fighters from Iraq arrived in Turkey early Wednesday en route to help the Syrian Kurds defend the town of Kobani from ISIS militants. One group of about 150 peshmerga troops flew from Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, to Turkey's Sanliurfa airport, while another contingent of peshmerga fighters drove into Turkey in a convoy of weapons-laden trucks, crowds cheering them along.

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The two peshmerga units are expected to meet up around the Turkish border crossing near Kobani and cross into Syria together. It's not clear if the reinforcements will be enough to turn the tide of the month-long siege. ISIS has reportedly regained some ground lost after the U.S. intensified its airstrikes against ISIS, and the Sunni militants now control up to half of Kobani. The U.S. airstrikes are continuing: U.S. Central Command said U.S. aircraft carried out four of them in the last 24 hours, destroying a small ISIS unit and several ISIS fighting positions.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.