Dutch bikers join Kurdish troops in battle against Islamic State
Members of a Dutch motorcyle gang have joined Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against self-styled Islamic State militants in Iraq.
The 'No Surrender' Motorcycle Club have been fighting on the front line with local Kurdish forces for some time and government officials in Holland have recently ruled that gang members will not face prosecution on their return home.
Dutch law prevents citizens from joining terrorist organisations, including IS, but current law doesn't stop individuals travelling to the region.
Speaking to Agence France Presse last week, public prosecutor spokesman Wim de Bruin said:
Klaas Otto, the leader of the gang, told Dutch state broadcaster NOS that three members of his group had travelled to Mosul to join the fighters there.
A Dutch-Kurdish Twitter account apparently shows a heavily tattoed man known only as "Ron" in a bunker brandishing an automatic rifle and standing with a Peshmerga fighter.
Kurdish forces are currently holding back the IS advance on the town of Kobani, near the frontier with Turkey with the support of US-led airstrikes on militants on the outskirts of the besieged settlement.