SURUC, Turkey (AP) — Turkey says it’s helping Iraqi Kurdish fighters cross into Syria to “give support” to fellow Kurds defending the border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants.
The announcement from Turkey’s top diplomat represents a significant shift. And it comes hours after the U.S. military announced that for the first time, it has airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies provided by Iraqi Kurdish authorities to Kurdish forces in Kobani.
The airdrops followed weeks of U.S. and coalition airstrikes in and near Kobani, along the Syrian-Turkish border. A U.S. military official said the airdrops included small arms.
Turkey had previously said it would oppose any U.S. arms transfers to the Kurdish rebels in Syria.
It’s still unclear whether Turkey will allow large numbers of heavily-armed Iraqi Kurdish fighters to make the journey — and whether significant numbers are likely to do so, considering the threat that the Islamic State group still poses to Kurdish areas in Iraq.
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137-a-15-(Brian Wilson, American who joined Kurdish fighters against Islamic State militants, in interview)-“out some areas”-Brian Wilson, an American who joined Kurdish fighters against the Islamic State militants, says the Kurds need heavier weapons and more manpower. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (20 Oct 2014)
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138-r-05-(Sound of gunfire, in northwestern Syria)–Sound of Kurdish fighters firing guns in a ground offensive against Islamic State militants, protecting areas inhabited by Kurds. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (20 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO AXLP108: Thick smoke from an airstrike by the US-led coalition rises in Kobani, Syria, as seen from a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, Monday, Oct. 20, 2014 Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. (AP Photo) (20 Oct 2014)
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