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World

Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga fighters to fly to Turkey, en route to Syrian town of Kobani

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Mahan Kasari, an 87 year-old Syrian Kurdish refugee woman from Kobani sits along with family members in Suruc on the Turkish side of the Turkey Syria border, Monday, Oct. 27, 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/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

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    People watch the town of Kobani during airstrikes by the US led coalition seen from the outskirts of Suruc, near the Turkey-Syria border, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 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/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

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    People watch the town of Kobani during airstrikes by the US led coalition seen from the outskirts of Suruc, near the Turkey-Syria border, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 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/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

IRBIL, Iraq – A spokesman for Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga fighters says dozens of them will fly to Turkey and from there cross into the Syrian border town of Kobani.

The spokesman, Halgurd Hekmat, says the peshmerga fighters will leave the city of Irbil, in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, later on Tuesday.

Last week, the local Iraqi Kurdish government authorized the peshmerga forces to go to neighboring Syria and help fellow Kurds combat Islamic State militants in Kobani.

A total of 150 peshmerga fighters were authorized to go to Kobani through Turkey.

The Islamic State group launched its offensive on Kobani and nearby villages in mid-September. The fighting has killed more than 800 people, according to activists.

The extremists captured dozens of Kurdish villages around Kobani and now also control parts of the town.