Islamic State fighters pushed into two districts of the strategically important Syrian border town of Kobani in fierce fighting late yesterday, Kurdish officials among the town’s defenders said.
“Tonight Islamic State has entered two districts with heavy weapons, including tanks. Civilians may have died because there are very intense clashes,” Asya Abdullah, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main Syrian Kurdish group defending the area, told Reuters from the town.
Another PYD official said that despite continuing US-led coalition airstrikes yesterday evening, Islamic State fighters had seized some buildings on the eastern edges of the town.
The militants were being held in the suburbs by fierce resistance from Kurdish forces defending the town, which has been under assault for more than three weeks, the official added.
Meanwhile, the US reported six airstrikes in its attempt to stop Islamic State militants from taking over the town.
But it played down the significance of the battle in the long-term US strategy to defeat the Islamist group.
The airstrikes destroyed an armoured personnel carrier, armed vehicles and artillery belonging to the militant group, which had threatened to overrun the town on the Turkish border, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said it was essential to take a long-term view of the conflict. The group may take Kobani or other towns, he said. While airstrikes were effective, military power alone would not be enough.
“People need to understand we need a little strategic patience here. This group is not going to go away tomorrow, and Kobani may fall. We can’t predict whether it will or it won’t,” Kirby said in an interview with CNN.
“There will be other towns that they will threaten, and there will be other towns that they will take. It is going to take a little bit of time.”
The US has launched airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq since August 8 and in Syria since September 23, sometimes with partners in an international coalition that President Barack Obama has sought to build against the group.
The airstrikes on Kobani were part of nine overall strikes in Syria conducted over the last two days with the United Arab Emirates, using bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft, Cent-Com said.