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Islamic State flags flying in Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani Isis flags fly in Kobani as Kurdish woman kills 10 jihadis in suicide attack
(34 minutes later)
Two flags of Islamic State (Isis) jihadis besieging the Syrian town of Kobani were flying on the eastern side of the town, an AFP photographer reported on Monday. The black flag of Isis was raised on the outskirts of the Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani on Monday afternoon as the Turkish army continued to push onlookers away from the nearby border with a show of force and tear gas.
The flags, black with the Arabic lettering of the group, were seen by the photographer from the Turkish side of the border. As fighting continued within the town, a female Kurdish fighter blew herself up in a suicide attack, killing 10 Isis fighters and wounded more, a Kurdish commander said.
One was flying on top of a building on the eastern side of Kobani. Another was seen being planted by a man on the crest of a hill overlooking the eastern edge of the town. Crowds lining the road about three kilometres away from Kobani watched on Monday afternoon as the jihadis’ black flag went up on the hill only moments after another was raised on a building next to the hill. The spectators pointed it out and binoculars were handed around for a better look. The mood was subdued.
Idris Nahsen, a local official, told AFP by telephone he could not confirm whether IS jihadis were within parts of the town. Inside Kobani, which is known as Ain al‑Arab in Arabic, Kurdish fighters and their supporters were continuing to hold Isis back. To Ismat Sheikh Hassan, a commander of a Kurdish militia, the YPG, the flags were a ruse.
Kurdish officials have said in the last days that Isis militants were advancing to within several hundred metres of the city but were meeting with tough resistance from Kurdish fighters. “I know they put an Isis flag on the hill. It is a lie. We want you to know they are not in the city right now. We would prefer to die than to leave Kobani,” he said by phone from inside the town.
Having called for international support for more than a fortnight, Hassan acknowledged that there had been some action from the US-led coalition to strike Isis closer to Kobani, but he could not confirm whether it would be enough to force the jihadis back.
“Yesterday evening there were two bombs behind the hill, but we don’t know if they did anything. And we still don’t have any other support,” he said.
He said there had been casualties on both sides but could not confirm the number.
Of the female Kurdish fighter who blew herself up in a suicide attack on the Isis forces, Hassan said this was a decision she took on her own. It was not something they allowed her to do nor would they allow any of their other fighters to do, he said.
The cracks of gunfire sounded closer to the Turkish border than in the past 22 days of fighting and stray shells continued to fall inside Turkish territory. Two more clusters of homes were evacuated on Turkish side of the border while the army lined up at least 20 tanks on a hill to the west of Kobani, facing the border.
Hassan’s closing remarks repeated his constant pleas for support. “We are fighting against very heavy weapons and we haven’t got big weapons. We have limited weapons but they have big tanks, big bombs.
“Please show this to the whole world for the world to realise we are fighting with a very strong organisation. We need help,” he said.