Embattled Kurds key in fight against Islamic State

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Kurds of Syria and Iraq have become a major focal point in the war against the Islamic State group, with Kurdish populations in both countries coming under significant threat by the militants’ lightening advance.

Syrian and Iraqi Kurds took part in cross-border operations to help rescue tens of thousands of displaced people from the minority Yazidi group from Iraq’s Sinjar Mountain in August. In Turkey, Kurds are pressing the government in Ankara to help their brethren in the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani.