A convoy of Kurdish Peshmerga troops departed from Turkey in a convoy overnight to help bolster Syrian Kurds holding out against self-styled Islamic State militants in the besieged town of Kobani.
Islamic State combatants have been trying to capture Kobani, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, for over a month, pressing their assault despite U.S.-led air strikes on their positions and the deaths of hundreds of their fighters.
US fighter and bomber planes launched five attacks against Islamic State (IS) militants near Kobani in Syria and five in Iraq since Friday, Central Command said.
The Kobani strikes "suppressed or destroyed" nine Islamic State fighting positions and a building, Centcom said. In Iraq, five air strikes destroyed an Islamic State vehicle southwest of Mosul Dam and hit four vehicles and four buildings used by militants near Al Qaim, it said in a statement.
Satellite images have revealed the destruction in and around the town of Kobani, on the Syrian border.
Members of a prominent motorcycle gang from Holland have reportedly joined forces with Kurdish troops in Iraq to fight IS militants.
The sister of a UK journalist being held by Islamic State militants has appealed for his captors to reopen dialogue aimed at freeing him.