Peshmerga To Kobani: Symbolic, But Not 'Tectonic,' Analyst Says

In what's sure to be a moment fraught with symbolism and broadcast around the world, an infantry company-sized contingent of Iraqi Peshmerga will cross over Wednesday into Kobani, Syria, from Turkey.

They'll bring heavy weapons, artillery and gear crucial to the ongoing Kurdish defense of Kobani, now in its sixth week.

But, despite all the attention it will garner, the troop movement doesn't necessarily signal a major shift in the fight, analysts say.

"In terms of a major war that's of some significance to U.S. national security, the arrival of 150 militiamen to an area is probably not of tectonic significance," said Steve Biddle, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.

That's particularly, Washington Institute defense fellow Jeff White says, since most tacticians consider Kobani to be of little inherent strategic interest in the fight against ISIS, which has captured large areas in Syria and Iraq.

What could be significant, Biddle says, is the back story explaining how Turkish leaders came to allow the movement in the first place. The United States wants Turkey to do more, including committing ground troops to the fight, Biddle said.

It could signal a backroom deal unlocking greater Turkish cooperation in the fight against ISIS, the militant group that calls itself the "Islamic State."

Or, Biddle says, it could simply be the product of a Turkish government holding its nose in an effort to deal with an increasingly rotten crisis on its doorstep.

The Peshmerga force

The Iraq Peshmerga contingent arrived by air from Irbil, Iraq, and landed in Urfa, Turkey, early Wednesday, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported.

The group was driven in six minibuses toward the border, Anadolu reported, while a separate convoy crossed into Turkey carrying weapons for the Iraqi Kurds.

The fighters will enter Kobani soon to reinforce fellow Kurds who are defending against ISIS, a Peshmerga general told CNN on Tuesday.

"The Peshmerga have been ready for a few days, then had logistical problems, but they no longer do," Brig. Gen. Halgurd Hikmat said of the Iraqi Kurdish forces.

The force is made up of 161 Peshmerga fighters with weapons "that will be of good help to our brothers in Kobani," according to an official with the Ministry of Peshmerga, the defense ministry for the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq.

Separately, about 200 Syrian rebels entered Kobani at dawn Wednesday with weapons that included mortars and heavy machine guns, Syrian rebel commander Col. Abdul Jabar Okaidi told CNN by phone. More fighters are available if needed, he said.

(CNN)