Damascus : The Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group has got control over 40 percent of the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Friday.
The strikes by the US-led anti-terror coalition have failed to quell the advance of the terror group in that strategic city on the Syrian-Turkish border, Xinhua reported citing the Observatory.
Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said dozens of IS fighters were killed by US strikes in eastern Kobane, adding that the bodies of those killed are still scattered on the streets there.
The Skynews Arabia TV said the IS fighters ambushed Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northeastern Kobane, killing as many as 125 Kurdish fighters and captured many others.
The capture of the city would enable the IS to link its self-declared capital of al-Raqqa province with Kobane and stretch its territory on to the borders with Turkey.
Syrian government officials and Kurdish activists accused Turkey of aiding the IS in capturing Kobane to eliminate the Kurdish presence in that area and impose the long-desired buffer zone protected by a no-fly zone in northern Syria.
Kurdish activists have repeatedly warned against the grave repercussions of the possible fall of the city to the IS.
Since the IS unleashed its attack Sep 16, it has captured more than 300 villages around Kobane and forced over 160,000 people to flee toward neighbouring Turkey.