Ramped up airstrikes stall ISIS advance on Syrian town
19 Oct 2014 4:50 AM IST
Turkish and U.S. officials said last week that Islamic State was on the verge of taking Kobane from its heavily outgunned Kurdish defenders, after seizing strategic points deep inside the town.
The tempo of coalition air strikes has increased dramatically, with U.S. fighter and bomber planes carrying out 14 raids against Islamic State targets near Kobane on Wednesday and Thursday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.
The strikes had seen the militants’ advance slow, but ‘the security situation on the ground in Kobane remains tenuous,’ the U.S. statement added.
The four-week Islamic State assault has been seen as a test of U.S. President Barack Obama’s air strike strategy, and Kurdish leaders say the town cannot survive without arms and ammunition reaching the defenders, something neighbouring Turkey has so far refused to allow. The State Department said on Thursday that a U.S. official had held direct talks for the first time last weekend with a Syrian Kurdish group involved in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, including Kobane.
Kurdish spokesmen said their forces were giving coordinates of the militants’ positions to the United States.
Islamic State has been keen to take the town to consolidate its position in northern Syria after seizing large amounts of territory in that country and in Iraq. A defeat in Kobane would be a major setback for the Islamists and a boost for Obama.Heavy and light weapons fire were audible from across the border in Turkey on Thursday afternoon, with one stray mortar hitting Turkish soil close to abandoned tents, a Reuters correspondent said. Turkish security forces moved civilians and media away from hills overlooking Kobane as the fighting raged.
Six air strikes hit eastern Kobane and there was fierce fighting between Kurdish and Islamist fighters overnight on Wednesday, but neither side made significant gains, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Kurdish fighters later managed to seize a street in Kobane that had been held by militants, the Observatory said.A journalist in Kobane said air strikes had allowed Kurdish forces to go on the offensive for the first time since Islamic State launched their assault four weeks ago.‘We walked past some positions in the east yesterday that were held by IS only two days ago,’ Abdulrahman Gok told Reuters by telephone.‘Officials here say the air strikes are sufficient but ground action is needed to wipe out IS. YPG is perfectly capable of doing that, but more weapons are needed,’ he said, referring to the acronym for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units. Islamic State’s Kobane offensive is one of several it has conducted after a series of lightning advances since June.
The tempo of coalition air strikes has increased dramatically, with U.S. fighter and bomber planes carrying out 14 raids against Islamic State targets near Kobane on Wednesday and Thursday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.
The strikes had seen the militants’ advance slow, but ‘the security situation on the ground in Kobane remains tenuous,’ the U.S. statement added.
The four-week Islamic State assault has been seen as a test of U.S. President Barack Obama’s air strike strategy, and Kurdish leaders say the town cannot survive without arms and ammunition reaching the defenders, something neighbouring Turkey has so far refused to allow. The State Department said on Thursday that a U.S. official had held direct talks for the first time last weekend with a Syrian Kurdish group involved in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, including Kobane.
Kurdish spokesmen said their forces were giving coordinates of the militants’ positions to the United States.
Islamic State has been keen to take the town to consolidate its position in northern Syria after seizing large amounts of territory in that country and in Iraq. A defeat in Kobane would be a major setback for the Islamists and a boost for Obama.Heavy and light weapons fire were audible from across the border in Turkey on Thursday afternoon, with one stray mortar hitting Turkish soil close to abandoned tents, a Reuters correspondent said. Turkish security forces moved civilians and media away from hills overlooking Kobane as the fighting raged.
Six air strikes hit eastern Kobane and there was fierce fighting between Kurdish and Islamist fighters overnight on Wednesday, but neither side made significant gains, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Kurdish fighters later managed to seize a street in Kobane that had been held by militants, the Observatory said.A journalist in Kobane said air strikes had allowed Kurdish forces to go on the offensive for the first time since Islamic State launched their assault four weeks ago.‘We walked past some positions in the east yesterday that were held by IS only two days ago,’ Abdulrahman Gok told Reuters by telephone.‘Officials here say the air strikes are sufficient but ground action is needed to wipe out IS. YPG is perfectly capable of doing that, but more weapons are needed,’ he said, referring to the acronym for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units. Islamic State’s Kobane offensive is one of several it has conducted after a series of lightning advances since June.
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