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Free Syrian Army fighters join Kurdish militias in defense of Kobane

Between 50 and 200 Free Syrian Army fighters have arrived in Kobane to help Kurdish militia defend the Syrian border town from Islamic State takeover.

By JC Finley
Members of the Free Syrian Army perform prayers in Damascus, Syria on August 13, 2012. (UPI)
Members of the Free Syrian Army perform prayers in Damascus, Syria on August 13, 2012. (UPI) | License Photo

DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Free Syrian Army fighters have joined Kurdish militias defending the embattled town of Kobane from Islamic State takeover.

FSA commander Col. Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi told the BBC that "around 200 fighters" had arrived in Kobane, although Kobane's Kurdish commander, Ocalan Isso, reported the arrival of only 50 FSA fighters.

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Relations between the Kurdish militia and the FSA have been strained.

Jordan Matson, a former U.S. Army infantryman currently fighting alongside the YPG Kurdish militia in Syria, told UPI last week there had been talk of FSA coming to the aid of YPG in Kobane but that it had not yet come to fruition. "We're here. They're there. We agree not to fight each other," while acknowledging, "We have common enemies."

That common enemy, the Islamic State, has struggled to gain control of Kobane for more than a month, though it is unclear what prompted FSA to join the fight in Kobane.

The Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office posted the following video online that reportedly shows Free Syrian Army members firing on IS locations in the eastern area of Kobane.

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Kurdish militia defending the embattled town from IS takeover have received aerial support from the United States, which has launched airstrikes against IS targets surrounding the city and delivered much needed Iraqi-supplied weapons to militia fighters.

On Tuesday, Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government deployed an unspecified number of Peshmerga fighters to Syria to help defend the mostly Kurdish border town near Turkey.

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