This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-kobani-air-strikes-will-test-inherent-resolve-of-jihadists-9796938.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Isis in Kobani: Air strikes will test ‘inherent resolve’ of jihadists Isis fighters warn West in new YouTube video: 'We are waiting for you. We will chop off your heads'
(about 17 hours later)
Bolstered by intensified US-led coalition air strikes targeting militants from the Isis group, Kurdish militiamen fought pitched street battles with the extremists in the Syrian Kurdish city border of Kobani, making small advances, activists and officials said. British, German and French Isis fighters have called for the West to send in ground troops to Iraq so they can be defeated, according to an intelligence company.
Members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, were making progress against Sunni militants, as the US-led coalition stepped up air strikes in and around the town, said Asya Abdullah, a Syrian Kurdish leader. In a video posted yesterday, an apparently British man said they would “chop off the heads of whoever you may bring” in a grim echo of the executions of several Western hostages.
US Central Command said US military forces conducted 18 air strikes against Isis group targets near Kobani on Tuesday and yesterday, destroying multiple fighting positions and striking 16 Isis-occupied buildings. On Tuesday, the Pentagon had said that 21 air strikes against Isis targets near Kobani overnight Monday marked the largest number there in a 24-hour period since the air campaign in Syria began last month. The apparent name of the US-led operation, “Inherent Resolve”, also emerged thanks to a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colonel Ed Thomas. The challenge came amid fierce fighting around the city of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border where Isis, also known as Islamic State, has been besieging Kurdish fighters. Asya Abdullah, a Syrian Kurdish leader, said they had made a number of small advances against Isis, partly because the US-led coalition had stepped up air strikes against the extreme Islamist group’s forces.
Mr Abdullah, co-president of Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, speaking from the town, told The Associated Press that Kurdish fighters have advanced near the hill of Tel Shair that overlooks part of the town, taking advantage of the air raids that slowed the push by the militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday’s clashes were taking place in Kobani’s eastern neighbourhoods as well as the southern edge of the town. The US military said it believed it had killed several hundred Isis fighters in the area, but warned Kobani could still fall. General John Allen, the US special envoy responsible for building the coalition against Isis, said: “Clearly ... given the circumstances associated with the defence of that town, there was a need for additional fire support to go in to try to relieve the defenders and to buy some space for reorganisation on the ground.”
Meanwhile, French President François Hollande said the country will keep delivering arms to Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria, said. The French government will “do everything to help” those fighting against Isis, especially the Kurds, by delivering “adapted weaponry,” Mr Hollande said yesterday, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll. He did not specify which arms France will deliver. France is a member of the US-led coalition, but does not take part in air strikes over Syria. Some in the West have questioned whether air strikes are enough to reverse significant gains made by Isis over the last year, with some calling for “boots on the ground”.
The Paris-based International Energy agency said in a report that US-led air strikes have significantly weakened Isis’ ability to produce and smuggle oil – a major source of income for the militants. The men in the video speak with an English accent The Site monitoring service published a transcript of the Isis video in which a man calling himself “Abu Abdullah al-Britani” and two others, said to be French and German, taunted the West.
Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani (Getty) Yesterday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Turkey’s calls for a no-fly zone on the Syrian territories as a “flagrant violation” of the UN charter and international law. “Syria categorically rejects the establishment of no-fly zones on any part of the Syrian territories under any pretext,” the ministry said. “We are waiting for you in Iraq, so bring your coalition of unbelievers, because unbelievers will not help you,” Britani says.
Turkey has said it won’t join the fight against Isis in Syria unless the coalition also goes after the Assad’s government. On Tuesday, Turkey launched air strikes against Kurdish rebels inside its borders, defying pleas from the US to instead focus on the Isis. “We will take their weaponry as booty and these people will die … You cannot come into Iraq and think that you will take it. No way. We are willing to lay down our blood on this soil. So try, try to come and we will kill every single soldier, Allah permitting. We will chop off the heads of the Americans, chop off the heads of the French, chop off the heads of whoever you may bring.”
AP Speaking in German, Abu Dauoud al-Almani urged Muslims to come to Syria to fight for Isis, while Abdul Wadoud al-Firansi warned the French President François Hollande that they would “take revenge for every drop of blood spilt as a result of your actions”.
Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani (Getty) Mr Hollande said yesterday that France would “do everything to help” those fighting against Isis and would keep delivering arms to Kurdish forces.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in a report that US-led air strikes have significantly weakened Isis’s ability to operate oil fields and smuggle oil – a major source of income for the group. In its monthly report released on Tuesday, the agency said the aerial bombardment has brought production down to around 20,000 barrels per day from a high of about 70,000 in the summer.
Additional reporting AP