According to the Associated Press, Syrian Kurds have asked the United States for the direct supply of weapons, saying that the airstrikes are not enough to stop the Islamic State’s advance. The Obama administration, meanwhile, says it continues to hold talks with Turkey on hosting U.S.-led forces at Turkish military bases. The White House was forced to walk back an initial claim last week that Turkey had authorized its bases for the coalition’s use. The talks come as the State Department has confirmed it has had contact for the first time with the main Kurdish political party in Syria, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. The PYD has close ties to the PKK, the Turkey-based militant Kurdish group that Turkish forces bombed earlier this week.