Iraqi peshmerga fighters fuel their truck tanks in a Turkish town near the Syrian border as they prepare to cross into Syria's Kobani to deliver military reinforcements.

Kobani has been encircled by Islamic State militants for more than 40 days. Weeks of U.S.-led air strikes have failed to break the siege, and Kurds are hoping the arrival of peshmerga fighters will turn the tide.

The first contingent of peshmerga fighters arrived in Kobani from Turkey Thursday.