Syrian Kurds flee homelands due to jihadi threat: Al-Nusra Islamists persecuting Kurds in Syria

Thousands of refugees have poured from Syria into Iraq's Kurdistan region in recent days to escape persecution from jihadi militant group al-Nusra, which holds ties to Islamist terror organisation al-Qaeda. The refugees, over 20,000 since Thursday, were Syrian Kurds, mainly comprising of families with children and elderly. Almost two million Syrian refugees have now fled the war-torn state since the start of the conflict, with an estimated 150,000 evacuees entering Iraq.