Iraqi Kurds to send forces to Kobane

Arbil: Iraqi Kurds have agreed to send fighters to help defend the northern Syrian city of Kobane from Islami State (IS) forces, after Turkey said it would allow them to cross Turkish territory.

The parliament of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region approved the move on Wednesday, days after it sent weapons and ammunition to the town to help Syrian Kurds fighting the Islamic State forces.

“Today in parliament we agreed to send the Peshmerga forces to Kobane as soon as possible,” said Mahmoud Haji Omer, a Kurdish MP.

Turkey earlier this week said it would allow Iraqi Kurd forces cross its borders to defend Kobane. However, it has refused to intervene in northern Syria directly, and has not allowed the US to launch sorties from its territory.

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition force will be trained to defend territory, rather than to seize it, from the Islamic State the Washington Post reported.

According to senior US and allied officials, they do not believe the moderate Syrian fighters will be able to seize towns from the Islamic State without the help of U.S. combat troops, which President Obama has ruled out.

“We have a big disconnect within our strategy. We need a credible, moderate Syrian force, but we have not been willing to commit what it takes to build that force,” said a senior U.S. official involved in Syria and Iraq operations, the Post reported. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the programme.