Iraqi peshmerga fighters have crossed into Turkey from Iraq, heading to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani to help fellow Kurds in their battle against Islamic State militants, the Syrian Kurdish leader said on Tuesday.

Saleh Moslem, co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Reuters that around 150 Peshmerga fighters who crossed into Turkey were expected to arrive later tonight to Kurdish-defended Kobani. “They are expected to arrive in Kobani in hours,” Moslem said.

Iraqi peshmerga fighters left on Tuesday for the besieged Syrian town of Kobani to help fellow Kurds in their battle against Islamic State militants, a senior Kurdish official said earlier.