Iraqi Kurds to offer artillery support, not direct combat, in Kobani
ARBIL - Iraqi Kurdish forces will not engage in direct combat in the Syrian town of Kobani but are to provide artillery support for fellow Kurds fending off Islamic State militants there, the regional government's spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.
Islamic State fighters have been trying to capture Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, for over a month, pressing their assault despite US-led air strikes on their positions and the deaths of hundreds of their fighters.
"Primarily, it will be a back-up support with artillery and other weapons," Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesman Safeen Dizayee told Reuters. "It will not be combat troops as such, at this point anyway."
