Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 23
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The Kurdish administration of northern Iraq sent 200 militants of Kurdish groups (Peshmerga) to protect the Syrian city of Kobani, populated by Kurds, Anadolu agency reported Oct. 22.
For security concerns, Turkey has requested all the information about the Peshmerga fighters who moved to Syria through Turkey, the agency said.
Earlier Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey doesn't want the Kobani city to be under the IS control, but at the same time will not send in its own troops, Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported.
"Turkey helped the population of Kobani and the forces protecting the town by allowing the Kurdish armed units (Peshmerga) to move across the country to Syria into Kobani," he said.
In late September 2014, Syrian Kurds-populated town of Kobani fell under control of the IS. Following the unrests there, reportedly over 100,000 refugees from Kobani fled to Turkey.
The move triggered mass protests among the Kurds in six provinces of Turkey.
Turkish PM Davutoglu had said the country would do anything possible to protect Kobani, adding that the Turkish army has the right to participate in military operations in other states, in accordance with the latest amendments made to the country's legislation.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Oct. 20 that Ankara allowed Kurdish paramilitary groups to move from Iraq to Kobani through the Turkish territory.
The terrorist organization known as the 'Islamic State' (IS, formerly ISIL or ISIS) was created in 2003 in Iraq. Between 2004 and 2006, the organization was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and consisted of 11 radical Islamist groups, which had close ties to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Following the start of military confrontation in Syria in 2013 between the armed opposition and the government forces, the IS penetrated the country. The organization said at the time it refuses to take the oath of Al-Qaeda and declared 'a holy war' against all groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian government forces.
edited by SI