Fighting between Kurdish rebels and Islamist militants is said to be intensifying in the strategic Syrian town of Kobani.<br /><br />Iraqi Peshmerga forces have now crossed the border to help fellow Kurds in defending the besieged town.<br /><br />Their arrival marks the first time Turkey has allowed ground troops from outside Syria to reinforce Syrian Kurds, who’ve been defending Kobani for more than 40 days.<br /><br />The Peshmerga were given a heroes’ welcome as their convoy of jeeps and flatbed trucks crossed Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast this week, making their way towards Kobani from their base in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.<br /><br />It’s unclear whether the small but heavily-armed contingent will be enough to swing the battle but the deployment is a potent display of unity between Kurdish groups that often seek to undermine each other.
