Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters are letting their presence known loud and clear in Kobani.<br/> <br />The fighters are marking their arrival with mortar rounds targeting Islamic State positions.<br/> <br />Kobani stands as a key test of whether their arrival can help fend off the militants, who are also being targeted with U.S. air strikes.<br/> <br />Those strikes increased over the weekend.<br/> <br />U.S. officials say seven strikes targeted Islamic State in Syria -- five of them in Kobani.<br/> <br />It was not immediately possible to verify the progress against the militants, who have been threatening Kobani for more than 40 days.
