Kurds flee IS violence in Syria

A Turkish soldier guards the border area near the Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, where heavy fighting has been taking place between fighters of the Islamic State group and the Kurdish YPG militia. The vehicles in the background are on the Syrian side of the border - their owners fled the fighting but didn't want to abandon their cars.

This woman and the two girls have also fled the fighting in their city. Kurdish women and children were the first to be evacuated when fighters of the "Islamic State" group launched a large-scale attack in the city of Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria.

A family from Ayn al-Arab waits in the Turkish border area. Refugees say they are afraid they would experience what happened to Kurds in Iraq, where women were captured and sold for marriage.

A Kurdish man recounts the ordeal of having been held captive by fighters of the Islamic State extremists. He was released, and fled to Turkey with members of his family.

A group of men help distribute a donation of mineral water bottles to refugees who fled the militants in Ayn al-Arab.

A man tries to negotiate with Turkish soldiers to bring a few plastic bags with food he wants to donate to Ayn al Arab residents who fled the fighting but were stuck on the Syrian side of the border inside their cars.

Kurdish refugees stand by some luggage after they managed to get away from the fighting between the IS and the Kurdish YPG militia in Ayn al-Arab, known in Kurdish as Kobane.

A local minibus driver waits for customers among the refugees. Last week, Turkey opened a section of its border to Syrians fleeing the violence. Some 1.3 million Syrian refugees, not all Kurds, have fled to Turkey, according to the UN.