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In Syria, airstrikes carried out against Islamic State in battle for Kobane In Syria, airstrikes carried out against Islamic State in battle for Kobane
(about 5 hours later)
BEIRUT — Warplanes carried out airstrikes Saturday near a key Syrian city under siege by Islamic State fighters, residents of Kobane say, providing some relief to defenders who complain they are outgunned by the al-Qaeda offshoot. BEIRUT — Warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes Saturday near a key Syrian city under siege by Islamic State fighters, providing some relief to defenders who complain they are outgunned by the al-Qaeda-inspired group.
Kobane is on the border with Turkey, and capturing it would give the militants strategic control of a new stretch of this border and possibly a new route into Syria. Kobane is on the border with Turkey, and capturing it would give the militants strategic control of a new stretch of the frontier and possibly a new route into Syria.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the airstrikes on Saturday, saying U.S. and partner nation military forces attacked several Islamic State positions in Syria, carrying out seven airstrikes on Friday and Saturday. A building and two armed vehicles were destroyed at the Kobane border crossing, officials said in a statement. “We have reports that 35 [Islamic State] fighters were killed in the strikes, and tanks were destroyed,” said Ojlan Esso, a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish force in Kobane.
U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter planes and drones were used in the strike. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also participated in these strikes. All aircraft exited the strike areas safely, the statement said. He said strikes by the U.S.-led coalition hit three fronts around Kobane.
Residents in Kobane said the airstrikes were the first to hit Islamic State positions on the front lines around the town. There have been limited strikes near the town in recent days targeting Islamic State supply lines. The U.S. military’s Central Command reported Saturday that a building and two armed vehicles used by Islamic State forces were destroyed at the Kobane border crossing, as part of seven airstrikes carried out on Friday and Saturday by American and allied military forces across Syria.
“[The Islamic State] moved a few miles into Kobane, and Kurdish fighters pulled out,” said Kovan Direj, a resident just outside the city. “But we can not say that ISIS took the town because there is still fighting going on.” Residents in Kobane said the airstrikes were the first to hit Islamic State positions on the front lines around the town. There have been limited strikes near the town in recent days targeting Islamic State supply lines. Despite the airstrikes, though, the Islamic State fighters did not halt their offensive.
The Islamic State began its march toward Kobane on Sept. 15, and Kurdish-Syrian fighters have been trying to fend off the advance. “[The Islamic State] moved a few miles into Kobane, and Kurdish fighters pulled out,” said Kovan Direj, a resident just outside the city. “But we cannot say that ISIS took the town because there is still fighting going on.”
For more than a week now, Kurdish leaders, from both Iraq and Syria, have been calling for U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Islamic State fighters on the open battle fronts near Kobane. The Islamic State fighters, also known by the acronym ISIS, began their march toward Kobane on Sept. 15, and Syrian Kurdish fighters in the area have been trying to stop them.
The Kurds say their weapons are no match for sophisticated munitions in the hands of Islamic State militants, who looted Iraqi army bases as they took over swathes of Iraq in June. “We know ISIS is going to do these kind of things, devote resources to areas where they perceive a weakness,” said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center and a fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy. “Strategically this is an area they’ve been trying to get hold of for a while.”
“ISIS brought support last night from Raqqah. We saw personal carriers, 18 Doshka rocket launchers on vehicles and cars full of militants,” Direj said. “They carried out an attack from the three fronts — east, south and west. They used heavy artillery.” For more than a week, Kurdish leaders from both Iraq and Syria have been calling for the U.S.-led coalition to strike the Islamic State fighters near Kobane. The Kurds say their weapons are no match for sophisticated arms in the hands of the militants, who looted Iraqi army bases as they took over swathes of Iraq in June.
Refugees from the area waited on the Syrian-Turkish border Saturday morning, trying to enter Turkey. More than 160,000 mostly Kurdish Syrians have crossed into Turkey in the past 10 days, and as the heavy fighting continues, more are expected to join them. Turkey is already hosting 1.5 million Syrians who have escaped the more than three years of fighting in their country. “ISIS brought support last night from Raqqah,” Direj said, of the Syrian city the militants use as their self-declared capital. “We saw personnel carriers, 18 Doshka rocket launchers on vehicles and cars full of militants.” The fighters attacked on three fronts, he said.
Striking near Kobane was politically complicated for the U.S.-led coalition. Some of the Kurdish groups fighting the militants there are also believed to have been involved in uprisings in Turkey, a NATO ally, making supporting their military operations tricky and supplying them with weapons likely out of the question. But bombing near Kobane was politically complicated for the U.S.-led coalition. One of the main groups fighting there is the Syrian Kurdish YPG — or Kurdish People’s Protection Units — which is linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The PKK has fought the Turkish military for decades for self-rule, in a conflict that has left tens of thousands of dead.
However, allowing the Islamic State to take more strategic territory, after President Obama pledged to destroy the group, would take the shine off this now five-day old bombing campaign against them. So far most of the strikes against the Islamic State militants in Syria have been on their weapons storage facilities, supply routes and sources of revenue, such as oil refineries.
Friday, Turkish troops shot tear gas at crowds on the border as they tried to leave to Syria to fight alongside Syrian Kurdish forces against the Islamic State. Turkey has fought with these Kurdish groups for decades and has been preventing Turkish-Kurdish fighters from entering Syria to fight with their brethren. The loss of Kobane would be a blow to the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State, a group that President Obama has pledged to destroy .
More than 160,000 refugees — most of them Syrian Kurds — have crossed into Turkey in the past 10 days, and as the heavy fighting continues, more are expected to join them. The United Nations has said this is one of the heaviest refugee flows in the three years of war in Syria. Turkey is already hosting 1.5 million Syrians who have escaped the fighting in their country.
Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.