Spain Offers To Train Iraqi Troops To Fight Back ISIS Militants: Kurdish Forces Making Gains In Kobani Against ISIS Surge

There is good news for the Iraqi forces. Spain has offered to train the Iraqi forces to sharpen their response to the the Islamic State (ISIS) forces. But Spain made clear that it will not take part in any ground operations in Syria or Iraq.

Announcing this in Washington, Spain's Defense Minister Pedro Morenes on last Saturday said, "we will start the training by end of this year. The operations against ISIS are evolving fast and we have to upgrade the abilities and offerings in accordance with that evolution."

300 Troops

Morenes said his country will send 300 soldiers to train Iraqi forces within the framework of their fight against the Islamic State. But Spain has no intention to involve itself in what is going on in Syria. AFP reports the decision followed Morenes meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. He later visited the U.S. Central Command in Florida and discussed the ongoing military operations against ISIS terrorists, with senior officials.

Defence Secretary Hagel said the two allies would cooperate on the fight against ISIS. Spain offered also offered its bases in Moron and Rota to help the U.S. planes with logistics support for operations in northern Iraq. The bases will also be used for transferring material and personnel to Ebola affected populations in West Africa, Morenes said.

ISIS Surge Halted

Meanwhile, embattled Kobani had a slight relief from the onslaught of the ISIS as Kurd troops made gains in pushing back the jihadist. The U.S. military gave air support with 25 air strikes in Syria and Iraq in the week-end and that hit jihadis and their oil infrastructure.

Washington officials claimed "encouraging" signs from the new strikes but warned air raids might alone will not completely prevent the fall of Kobani until the Iraq forces take an upper hand over the ISIS. But Iraqi forces have been struggling hard to regain the ground. But there was a positive sign, as the Iraqi MPs agreed on naming defence and interior ministers to accentuate the fight against ISIS. The US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the move as another "positive step forward", reported 9 News Australia.

The ISIS militants continued their mortar fire at the Syrian side of the Kobani border near Turkey and obstructed Kurds' sole route for supplies and civilian transit, according to a Kurdish official Idris Nassen quoted in the AFP. The jihadists launched a fierce attack before being pushed back, Nassen said. The air strikes killed 21 jihadists and 14 more got killed in ground fighting with Kurdish fighters. Meanwhile, in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, the ISIS jihadists executed a man for filming their headquarters, and hung his body on a cross.