Reports out of the embattled city of Kobani reveal that the Kurdish militia have been able to repel major advances in the city made by the Islamic State militants, with the help of Peshmerga forces and Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels.
The battle for the city, which has been raging for over 50 days, may see a major tip in the balance in favour of the Kurdish fighters, as the poorly armed Kurds now have the assistance of Peshmerga artillery and mortar support.
Idriss Nasaan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kobani area reportedly told the local news media outlets that "Peshmerga have made a big difference [to the war with their] artillery support," reported Shafaq News.
The Iraqi Kurdish army known as the Peshmerga reportedly are using long-range artillery to target ISIS positions inside Kobani.
"We did not have artillery," Nassan said. "But now with the Peshmerga support, the battle for the city will be different."
Thats an S-60 on an M8 truck. Peshmerga are using against Daesh in #Kobane Effective firing range 6,000 m (20,000 ft) pic.twitter.com/VmJoGW37EB
— Issa (@issa_zzzz) November 3, 2014
Reports claim that since Saturday the Peshmerga forces have joined the fight in Kobani after carrying out several joint operations with the Kurdish militia -- People's Protection Units (YPG) and FSA. It is reported that following the joint attack, the Islamic State militants in the city incurred huge losses.
Sources in the embattled city told ARA News that the Peshmerga forces and the YPG clashed with the ISIS on Saturday in the village of Kikan, which had been taken over by ISIS.
Kiss my mortar bag-daddy dogs. EAT MORTAR! from #kobane last night pic.twitter.com/hu8foMAScW — Issa (@issa_zzzz) November 3, 2014
Major General Abdul Majid Haji, the commander of the Peshmerga forces in Kobani also told reporters that the Peshmerga, FSA and Kurdish militia carried out a major attack against ISIS on the western side of Kobani.
The joint attack was aimed at repelling the ISIS from the western neighborhoods of Kobani as the group wants to control the road of Girke Kobane in an attempt to prevent the Peshmerga forces from entering the city.
"But we faced them with heavy weapons and we were able to deter them without any casualties to our forces ranks. The Peshmerga killed dozens militants and destroyed many IS-led military vehicles," Haji said.
Reports indicate that at least 150 Peshmerga fighters have joined the conflict in Kobani.
