A group of Iraqi Peshmerga fighters heading to the Syrian town of Kobani , landed at the Sanliurfa airport in southeastern Turkey Early Wednesday.
The latest move by the Peshmerga fighters comes in the wake of Turkey announcing last week that it will allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters or the Pershmergas to cross its border into Syria to support those fighting against the Islamic State militants in Syria's border town of Kobani.
Saleh Moslem, co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said that the Peshmerga fighters numbering around 150 were expected to reach the area of Kobane later on Wednesday, reports abc..net.au
The Iraqi Kurdish region's parliament had voted last week to send the Peshmergas to Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday that air strikes alone were not sufficient to thwart the Islamic State militants' attacks in Kobani. He added that only the Peshmergas and moderate Syrian rebel forces could expel the Islamic State from Kobani.
"Saving Kobani, retaking Kobani and some area around Kobani from ISIS, there's a need for a military operation," he said in an interview with the BBC, reports Reuters. However, he said that neither Turkey nor Western allies would send ground troops.
"If they (international coalition) don't want to send their ground troops, how can they expect Turkey to send Turkish ground troops with the same risks on our border?" Davutoglu said.
Turkey believes that PYD, the main group fighting against the Islamic State, is no different than PKK, which has fought against Turkey for 30 years and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and NATO.
