"We call on the Kurdish people... to step forward... Anyone fit to bear arms should join the ranks of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG) and to face the assaults of these armed groups," said a recently released YPG statement.

According to a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the politician identified as Isa Huso was assassinated outside his house in the Syrian town of Al-Qamishli on Tuesday.

The statement also slammed the foreign-sponsored opposition groups in the country, the so-called Syrian National Coalition and the terrorist Free Syrian Army (FSA), saying "Despite our repeated calls …..to date, these parties have failed to take a clear position," the statement said.

This comes while Kurdish fighters, who are opposed to foreign interference in Syria, have been battling foreign-backed militants in the north in recent months.

On July 21, Kurdish fighters took control of a key checkpoint controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants and seized light weapons, ammunition, a vehicle mounted with a heavy machine gun, and a mortar launcher.

On July 17, Kurdish fighters also took control of the town of Ras al-Ain in the border province of Hasakah.

The unrest in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following intervention of western and regional states.

Many Syrians who sided with the opposition at start of the protests have now turned to side with the government and the army to defend their country against foreign-backed extremists.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced in the violence.

SHI/BA