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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| US jets strike Kobani, ISIS shells hit Turkey | |
| 2014-10-19 | |
| US-led coalition jets pounded suspected ISIS targets at least six times in the besieged Syrian town of Kobani on Saturday after the fiercest shelling in days by the insurgents shook the town's centre and hit border areas within Turkey. Shelling continued after the strikes hit the centre of Kobani. Several mortars fell inside Turkey near the border gate, called Mursitpinar, according to witnesses. ISIS militants have battled Kurdish fighters for a month to take control of Kobani and consolidate a 95km stretch of land they control along the Turkish border, but stepped-up air strikes in recent days have helped Kurds fend off the advance. The coalition Nato member Turkey is a somewhat reluctant member of the coalition, insisting it must also confront Assad to end a civil war that has killed some 200,000 civilians since March 2011.
In Kobani, a commander for the YPG, the Syrian Kurdish militia defending Kobani, who would only gave her code name Dicle, said ISIS' renewed attacks were aimed at severing the town's last link with Turkey. "They want to cut off Kobani's connection with the rest of the world," she told Reuters by telephone. "Turkey is not allowing in fighters or weapons, but they send aid at Mursitpinar. The ISIS wants to destroy this gate so that we will be completely trapped here." Turkey has refused to rearm beleaguered Kurdish fighters, who complain they are at huge disadvantage in the face of ISIS' weaponry, many of it seized from the Iraqi military when it took the city of Mosul in June. Turkey views the YPG with suspicion for its long-standing links with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a 30-year armed campaign for self-rule in Turkey. President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month the PKK was no better than the ISIS in his view. This stance sparked outrage among Turkey's own Kurds, who make up about 20 per cent of the population. Riots in several cities earlier this month killed more than 35 people. The Syrian Observatory said the ISIS had launched at least 21 mortar attacks on Saturday close to the border. Abdulrahman Gok, a journalist inside Kobani, said by telephone the fighting was the worst in two days. "In the past hour, the shelling has intensified. They are firing almost one every two minutes," he said, adding that the insurgents were aiming at the east side of town towards the Mursitpinar gate. A cloud of black smoke towered over the centre of Kobani following the latest air strike as the roar of fighter jets could be heard from a blue sky. Gunfire popped in the west and centre of town. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Kurds need artillery so they can counterbattery. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-10-19 18:16 |
| #1 ISIS shells hit Turkey A 'friendly fire' incident. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-10-19 07:01 |