Fleeing ISIS, Syrian Kurds Swarm into Turkey

Late last week, ISIS fighters attacked a Kurdish city in northern Syria, after seizing 21 nearby villages in a major assault. The attack on the city of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish, drove hundreds of thousands of residents to flee, most heading to the nearby border with Turkey. The Associated Press is reporting that more than 150,000 Syrian Kurds have entered Turkey since the border was opened to refugees on September 19, and the United Nations warns that number could soon climb as high as 400,000. Turkey is already housing more than one million Syrians who have fled the years-long conflict between government troops, rebel soldiers, and jihadist groups. Some of the Kurdish men who escorted their families into Turkey are now trying to return home to defend Kobani, but are finding themselves blocked at the border. As the U.S. and coalition partners begin air strikes against ISIS targets inside Syria, here are images of those recently driven out by the Islamic militant group.

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