Why Jihadists Want To Seize Kurdish Border Town İn Syria

The Islamic State group was just 1.3 miles (two kilometers) away from invading the Syrian Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab Wednesday, according to sources on the ground in Syria. If militants seize the city, known to Kurdish locals as Kobane , it would consolidate much of their territory in Syria and become their closest stronghold to the Turkish border. Years of fighting between the Turkish army and the PKK killed hundreds on both sides as recently as 2012 and had only recently been halted by a cease fire. That cease fire, though, was threatened by Kurdish unrest over Kobane — and no one wants that. Yet Erdoğan's long-promised constitutional reforms giving Kurds more rights have also stalled. Unluhisarcikli said both sides agree fighting is counterproductive — but that's about as much agreement as you get.

Today, Friday, they have taken the bridge barrier” and set Assad's troops on the run, taking the dead bodies of officers but leaving dozens of killed conscripts behind at the frontlines and on the road to Nawa. Opposition sources report that a contact at the military hospital at Sanamein says they have admitted 65 dead bodies and 150 wounded Government troops so far. On the 50th day of the defence of Kobane, the combined YPG and Peshmerga forces are already making a difference. The collapse of state authority in much of Syria provided the long-oppressed Kurds with an opportunity to set up local governments in three areas. Their decision not to directly confront Syrian government forces had, until kobane news recently, allowed them to remain islands of relative calm. Islamic State attacked Afrin last year but was repulsed. The Nusra Front has held positions close by for many months without launching a major offensive. The artists had formed a human chain to show their solidarity for the Kurdish resistance in Kobane, but were rewarded with several of them being wounded and a 28 year old woman, Kader Ortakaya, being shot dead from an injury to the head. On Wednesday night, US jets struck at the so-called Khorasan Group, part of the Al Nusra Front, which it claims is not attacking the Assad regime but instead planning attacks in Europe and America. A YPG operation in the central municipal area was met by an IS suicide car bomb but the YPG managed to destroy the vehicle while still in range of the Jihadist force and 4 of them were killed by the explosion. On the eastern front in the city, after fierce battles 13 Jihadists were killed and large amounts of ammunition and weapons taken. On the southern front similarly, according to YPG, 17 Jihadists were killed after heavy fighting in several Kurdish operations. We also confirm that there is coordination between us and the important factions of the FSA in the northern countryside of Aleppo, Afrin, Kobane, and Jazia. Currently, there are factions and several battalions kobane news of the FSA fighting on our side against the ISIS terrorists. The Kurds are now clearing the city. The Islamists have left behind suicide bombers hiding in the ruins of the various buildings in the city. Defence Minister Pedro Morenes made the announcement in Washington, where he has been meeting senior US officials. The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously called for more support for the Iraqi government in the face kobane news of the "vicious string of suicide, vehicle-borne and other attacks" in the capital. Coalition air strikes near Kobane hit 20 IS fighting positions, five IS vehicles and two IS-held buildings, said Central Command. And that's why the USAF arranged with the Kurdish YPG units defending Kobane to stage a video that would force IS men out into the open, where they could be killed on-camera, in a way that would send a message to potential recruits around the world. CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona told CNN on Thursday that as the ISIS militants get closer to the city, targeting becomes much more difficult. Protestors make barricades against Turkish police during unauthorized demonstrations against the advance of Islamic State of Iraq. Protesters clash with police during demonstrations against lack of action by the government Islamic State insurgents targeting the Syrian city of Kobane. Summary ⎙ Print The fall of Kobani would deal a severe blow to Kurdish independence hopes and bolster Turkey's political goals.