Pentagon Calls Possible Turkish Aid in Kobani ‘Welcome News’
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Digital Vision/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — After the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday that his country would aid Iraqi Kurdish fighters in crossing into Syria to support Kurdish fighters in the town of Kobani, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren called the statement “welcome news.”
“The more fighters that are available to combat [ISIS] fighters, the better,” Warren said.
Turkey had kept Kurdish fighters out previously due to a 30-year Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said Monday that President Obama spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend to discuss the situation in Kobani, a town that has been threatened by ISIS advances for weeks.
Turkey has also taken in over one million refugees, including about 180,000 from Kobani.
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