MESOP : A LITTLE ROLE – YPG SPEAKER SHORSH HASSAN : “PESHMERGA HAVE A ROLE”

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fire rockets at Islamic State in Kobani

November 2, 2014 – KOBANI, Syrian Kurdistan,— Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in besieged border Kurdish town, fire six rockets from pick-up trucks at armed group’s positions. -Al Jazeera – Peshmerga forces from Iraqi Kurdistan have started combat operations against the Islamic State IS group militants in Kobani town in Syrian Kurdistan, less than twenty four hours after arriving in the besieged Syrian town.

Peshmerga fighters in Kobani, a town near the Turkish border that has become a focal point in the battle against the armed group, fired at least six rockets from pick-up trucks at IS positions on Saturday. Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the border, earlier said the Peshmerga stationed themselves in the western side of the town and hoisted the Kurdish flag in one of the buildings they are staying in. Al Jazeera’s Raafat Al Rifai, reporting from Kobani, said Syrian Kurdish fighters, known as the YPG or People’s Protection Units, who have been battling IS for weeks, had been patiently waiting for the arrival of the Peshmerga and their superior weaponry. The YPG have been holding out for weeks against IS’s offensive, backed by dozens of US-led air strikes against IS positions.The YPG have repeatedly said they do not need more fighters, only weapons, and say they are mistrustful of Turkey’s intentions, accusing it of trying to dilute the YPG’s influence in Kobani. Peshmerga forces arrived in Kobani on Friday armed with heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft machine guns and mobile rocket launchers.

Shorsh Hassan, a spokesman for the YPG, said the arriving Peshmerga had “a role” to play in the fight against IS. “The priority will be to recapture Kobani neighborhoods that were taken by [IS] and then the goal is to liberate all villages in the countryside of Kobani,” Hassan told the AFP news agency. The SOHR, which operates through a network of activists on the ground, said more than 100 IS fighters had been killed in clashes in the last three days, as well as through US-led airstrikes. US Central Command said on Saturday that US aircraft had launched five raids near Kobani in the past two days, affected nine IS fighting positions and damaging one building used by the group.

Kobani has become a crucial battleground in the war against IS, which is fighting to extend large expanses of land it controls in Iraq and Syria, where it has declared an Islamic “caliphate”.