Clashes in the Syrian border town of Kobani flared overnight Saturday and continued into Sunday as U.S.-led airstrikes destroyed dozens of targets and ISIS fighters launched mortar shells on Kurdish soldiers and detonated at least two car bombs.
ISIS militants launched more than 40 mortars on Kurdish sections of Kobani, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which also reported two car bombs hit Kurdish positions. "We had the most intense clashes in days, perhaps a week, last night," Abdulrahman Gok, a journalist in Kobani, told Reuters. ISIS militants have battled Kurdish fighters for a month to take control of Kobani in order to complete a stretch of land that the group controls on the Turkish border.
The Kurds warned that Kobani would soon fall leading the U.S. and its partners to focus airstrikes on the contested city. Eleven airstrikes took place in Kobani Saturday, destroying 20 ISIS positions, five ISIS vehicles and two ISIS-held vehicles, according to U.S. Central Command.
An ISIS-held oil refinery in Syria was also destroyed in Syria by the strikes, which were facilitated with the help of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Ten airstrikes were also conducted against ISIS terrorists in Iraq, destroying an ISIS-built land bridge near the Fallujah Dam, U.S. Central Command said.
IN-DEPTH
- U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrikes Pound ISIS Near Syrian Border Town
- U.S. Launches Six More Airstrikes Near Kobani
SOCIAL
— Jim Miklaszewski, Courtney Kube and Elisha Fieldstadt
