BEIRUT (AP) — Iraqi and Kurdish officials say some ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani.
Activists they are playing a major role in the 7-week-old conflict near the Turkish border, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists.
It is not clear how many Kurds are aiding the estimated 3,000 Islamic State militants in the Kobani area — and fighting against their own Kurdish brethren — but a top military commander for the extremists in the town is an Iraqi Kurd, known by the nom de guerre of Abu Khattab al-Kurdi.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials say many of the Kurdish IS fighters, including al-Kurdi, are from the northeastern Iraqi town of Halabja, which was bombed with chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein’s forces in 1988, killing some 5,000 people.
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APPHOTO BEI503: FILE – In this Oct. 28, 2014 file photo, smoke and flames rise from an Islamic State fighters’ position in the town of Kobani during airstrikes by the US led coalition seen from the outskirts of Suruc, near the Turkey-Syria border. Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials. Still, most Kurds are moderate and secular-leaning Muslims. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (3 Nov 2014)
< APPHOTO BEI501: This undated image posted on a militant website shows Abu Khattab al-Kurdi, or Abu Khattab the Kurd, one of the Islamic State group’s top military commanders in the offensive on the Syrian city of Kobani. Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials. Still, most Kurds are moderate and secular-leaning Muslims. (AP Photo/Jihadis website) (3 Nov 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
