President Obama says he will send as many as 250 more troops to the Syrian war zone

Towering over his Kurdish partner at a checkpoint in northern Iraq, US volunteer John Cole cuts an unusual figure on the road to the newest front in the war against Islamic State.

Just over 2 meters tall and holding his assault rifle upside down, Cole is among a relatively small band of Westerners who have made their own way to Iraq to take up arms against the militant group - even though Kurdish authorities say they need foreign money and weapons more than men.