Peshmerga forces head for besieged Kobane

After a two-day wait on the Turkish borders, a convoy of the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces has crossed into Syria to join the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Ain Al-Arab (Kobane) town.
Turkish security officers tightened safety measures and closed the route to traffic as the convoy headed towards the Mursitpinar border gate located in Suruc district,Turkey's Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Friday. The Peshmerga troops are expected to enter Kobane after official procedures are complete at the border gate, according to the AA report.
On Wednesday, a first contingent of Peshmerga forces was flown from Irbil city, north Iraq to Turkey's GAP Airport; they were then stationed in the Suruc district, Sanliurfa province, south Turkey.
A convoy of trucks carrying Kobane-bound Peshmerga troops and heavy weapons had also entered Turkey in the southeastern province of Sirnak on Wednesday via the Habur border gate.
The battle for control of the strategic town between ISIL militants and Kurdish defenders of the city has been raging since mid-September when ISIL entered Kobane.
An estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including some 190,000 from Kobane, are being sheltered in camps across Turkey after fleeing the fighting.
Turkey has been pushing the international community, including the UN, to establish a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees inside Syria near the Turkish border.