TURKISH Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that he would oppose any attempt by the US to arm Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria.

Mr Erdogan signalled that his government’s hatred of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) meant it wouldn’t do anything to held Syrian Kurdish forces of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) fighting the Islamist terror group just over the border.

“The PYD is, for us, equal to the PKK. It is a terror organisation,” Erdogan told a group of reporters on his return from a visit to Afghanistan.

People’s Protection Units (YPG), linked to the PYD, have become the last line of defence against Isis extremists assaulting the town of Kobane, a stone’s throw from the border with Turkey.

But instead of intervening to prevent a bloody massacre, Turkish forces have prevented Kurds from crossing the border to help the residents of Kobane fend off the attackers.

“It would be wrong for the United States — with whom we are friends and allies in Nato — to expect us to say Yes to such a support to a terrorist organisation,” Mr Erdogan claimed.

Fighting between Isis and YPG forces continued on Sunday.

Mortar strikes hit the town, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Three mortars also fell on the Turkish side of the border, landing in an open field where they caused no injuries.

On Saturday and Sunday, Isis appeared to be targeting the border crossing area, potentially in a bid to sever Kobane’s last link to the outside world.