The US and coalition forces have intensified its aerial campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled border town of Kobani.
Pentagon press secretary Navy rear admiral John Kirby said the number of airstrikes in the area has increased due to the concentration of the militants, and departure of a great majority of civilian population.
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"ISIL has made no secret of the fact that they want that town…And so they have continued to flow fighters to Kobani, meaning there are more targets in and around Kobani."
The US Central Command confirmed that it has carried 21 and 18 airstrikes near Kobani in the past two days, destroying multiple ISIL fighting positions, buildings, compounds, armed vehicles, and an artillery storage facility.
Kirby said the airstrikes have killed several hundred ISIL fighters and also made it more difficult for the organisation to sustain itself and to operate in and around Kobani.
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The admiral, however, warned that the town might still fall to ISIL.
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By GlobalData"I would also say – and I think it’s important for people to understand – Kobani could still fall. It could very well still fall.
"We do know that the Kurdish militias there are fighting hard to keep the town and that we do believe that our airstrikes have helped them in that, that ISIL still threatens Kobani, but that they’re holding it."
Also called Ayn al-Arab, Kobani was besieged by ISIL from three sides two weeks ago, forcing several thousands of Kurds to flee into Turkey.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish officials have claimed that the coalition bombardment intensified after the People’s Protection Units, also known as YPG, started giving the IS position coordinates to the US-led alliance.
YPG spokesman Polat Can was quoted by Reuters as saying: "The senior people in YPG tell the coalition the location of ISIL targets and they hit accordingly.
"Some of (the militants) have withdrawn, but they regroup and return. But because the air strikes are working in coordination, they hit their targets well."
Known as Operation Inherent Resolve, the US aerial campaign was launched in Iraq in August and was extended to Syria the following month to destroy the terrorist group, which seized large swaths of territory in the two countries in recent months.
Image: Navy rear admiral John Kirby said there are more targets in and around Kobani. Photo: courtesy of US Department of Defense.
