US-led coalition ramps up strikes on Syrian town

MURSITPINAR, Turkey (AP) -- The U.S.-led coalition ramped up its aerial bombardment of Islamic State positions in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Thursday as the extremist group battled street by street with Kurdish forces and reportedly rushed in reinforcements from surrounding areas.<br /> <br /> The battle for the town near the Turkish border has emerged as a major early test for the U.S.-led air campaign aimed at rolling back and eventually destroying the extremist group, and has strained ties with NATO ally Turkey, which is at odds with Washington over its long-term strategy in Syria.<br /> <br /> The U.S. Central Command said five airstrikes south of Kobani since Wednesday had destroyed an Islamic State group support building and two vehicles, and damaged a training camp. The strikes also struck two groups of Islamic State fighters, it said in a statement.<br /> <br /> "Indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL," it said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group, which controls large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.<br /> <br /> But despite the airstrikes overnight and into the morning, the Islamic State fighters managed to capture a police station in the east of the town, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The station was later struck by coalition jets.<br /> <br /> The Observatory, which relies on activists across Syria, said Kurdish forces had surrounded the jihadists in the area of the station and that heavy fighting was underway.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/10/280545