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Kobane: IS fighters targeted by new air strikes Kobane: Air strikes help Syria town curb IS
(about 4 hours later)
The US-led coalition has carried out more air strikes to try to repel Islamic State (IS) militants attacking the Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane. The US-led coalition has carried out its most sustained air attacks so far on Islamic State fighters attacking the Turkey-Syria border town of Kobane.
The BBC's Paul Adams heard three raids in 30 minutes - and eight in total - on Tuesday, in support of Syrian Kurds. Syrian Kurdish fighters said the strikes were the most effective yet but should have come much earlier.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned air strikes were not enough and Kobane was "about to fall". Correspondents said the surge of IS appeared to have been halted.
At least 400 people have died in three weeks of fighting for Kobane, monitors say, and 160,000 Syrians have fled. Earlier Turkey's president warned Kobane was "about to fall" and faced widening protests from Kurds over his refusal to allow military support.
If IS captures Kobane, its jihadists will control a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border. At least 400 people have died in three weeks of fighting for Kobane, monitors say, and 160,000 Syrians have fled across the border to Turkey.
Separately, a Kurdish demonstrator has been killed in clashes with Turkish police in the town of Varto, news agencies say, as Kurds widen their protests against what they view as Turkey's inaction over Kobane. 'More robust'
Evacuation
The latest media release from the US military confirmed five air strikes around Kobane, saying they were on Monday and Tuesday, but without specifying exactly when.The latest media release from the US military confirmed five air strikes around Kobane, saying they were on Monday and Tuesday, but without specifying exactly when.
At the scene: BBC's Paul Adams on Syria-Turkey border
This was a day of air strikes. From the early hours of the morning until late afternoon, great columns of black smoke rose from positions around Kobane.
The strikes didn't end the gunfire, but did seem to bring the advance by Islamic State to a juddering halt. At times the town seemed eerily quiet, certainly by contrast with Monday's furious assault.
For the first time, the air strikes seem to be making a difference. But sources inside Kobane are calling for more. They say the don't want Turkish troops to intervene but are pleading with Turkey to allow armed Kurdish fighters to join them. Of that, in public at least, there is absolutely no sign.
Kobane: Too little too late?
Surviving on the Turkey-Syria border
It said the attacks had destroyed four IS armed vehicles and an "IS unit", and damaged one IS tank and one armoured vehicle.It said the attacks had destroyed four IS armed vehicles and an "IS unit", and damaged one IS tank and one armoured vehicle.
However, our correspondent says more air strikes could be heard on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total to eight since 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) - by far the most sustained coalition action in the area. However, the BBC's Paul Adams, on the Syria-Turkey border, says more air strikes were heard on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total to eight since 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) - by far the most sustained coalition action in the area.
He says that as a result, fighting in the city has died down considerably - it was quiet but for occasional crackles of gunfire in the afternoon. He says that as a result, fighting in the city died down considerably - it was quiet but for occasional crackles of gunfire in the afternoon.
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS had crossed into a southern district of Kobane, after heavy fighting on Monday evening had forced it to pull back from eastern districts. Meysa Abdo, the top female Kurdish commander in Kobane, told the BBC's Newshour programme: "Since last night we've seen the most effective air strikes around Kobane ever, however they are a bit late.
The town is now besieged on three sides. A humanitarian mission to evacuate the few thousand civilians left in Kobane continued on Tuesday. "If the coalition had attacked with such strength and effectiveness beforehand, we wouldn't have seen IS reach the city and destroy so many lives."
Mr Erdogan said on a visit to a refugee camp for Syrians: "The problem of [IS] cannot be solved via air bombardment. Right now, Kobane is about to fall. She said there had been some coordination with the coalition on targeting but that it needed to be more robust. She added: "With the help of coalition air strikes we can defeat IS."
"We had warned the West. We wanted three things: no-fly zone, a secure zone parallel to that, and the training of moderate Syrian rebels," he said. Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speech earlier on Tuesday in which he said Kobane was "about to fall", Ms Abdo said: "He is dreaming and Kobane will never fall."
Mr Erdogan said that "the terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation", although he gave no further details. She said there had been fierce fighting: "IS is trying to enter the city but our fighters have shown extreme bravery and resisted their attacks with heavy weapons."
Analysis by Murat Nisancioglu, BBC Turkish In his speech on a visit to a refugee camp for Syrians, Mr Erdogan said air power alone could not defeat IS: "We had warned the West. We wanted three things: no-fly zone, a secure zone parallel to that, and the training of moderate Syrian rebels."
When he says that Kobane is going to fall and Islamic State will not be defeated by air strikes, what Mr Erdogan means is that the Turks are ready to help on the ground, but only if the coalition's objectives include the removal of President Assad from power in Syria. He said that "the terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation", although he gave no further details.
Turkey's other conditions are: a buffer zone inside Syria along the Turkish border and a no-fly zone to prevent the Syrian air force from operating. Across Turkey on Tuesday, Kurds vented their anger at the government's lack of military support for the defenders of Kobane.
Turkey sees the Kurds in Syria as a threat, not least because they are trying to establish autonomy in the region, the success of which will inevitably influence the peace talks with the Kurds in Turkey. Analysis: BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul
The crisis in Kobane is reawakening the ghosts of the civil war between Turkey and the Kurds.
While Islamic State tightens its grip on Kobane, Turkey is still holding fire on deploying troops. It remains reluctant to help the Kurdish militia in Syria, which has close links with Kurdish fighters here.
And the Turkish government has again called for the US-led coalition to target the Assad regime as well as IS - and for a no-fly zone to ease the refugee influx into Turkey. But neither goal seems within reach, the US state department reiterating that the air strikes remained focused on IS alone. The Kurds say Turkey's failure to act will lead to the fall of Kobane.
Police used tear gas and water cannon as unrest spread to at least six cities. One protester was killed in the town of Varto.
Dozens of Kurdish demonstrators also smashed a glass door and entered the European Parliament in Brussels.
Hundreds more protesters demonstrated in Berlin and other German cities.
In New York, the UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said the Syrian Kurds had defended Kobane with great courage and the international community should now take concrete action to support them, although he did not say whether he thought ground troops should join the fight.