ISIS
positions in and around Kobane felt the full force of American airpower
last night, as sustained bombing raids resulted in a series of
spectacular explosions in the besieged Syrian town.
The
radical Islamic group has been dramatically pushed back from the town,
having as recently as last week looked like it was about to drive out
the last of the brave Kurdish fighters defending it.
As
a fresh round of airstrikes rained down, the US also ran a series of
airdrops for the Kurdish resistance, dispatching weapons and medical
supplies.
Pyrotechnic tracer ammunition could be seen marking out ISIS targets in the town as the U.S. bombers flew overhead.
In their sights: Pyrotechnic tracer rounds light up the night sky in Kobane as U.S. warplanes fly overhead
Direct hit: Moments later a ferocious explosion lit up the sky in the exact spot where the lines met
Destruction: Explosions ripped through the neighbourhood in a continued round of assaults
Fighting: A U.S. bombing raid sends
flames and smoke into the air in the besieged Syrian border town of
Kobane tonight. The renewed airstrikes came as Turkey opened its borders
to let more Kurds join the fight
Blast: Smoke rises from the same area after the blast, one of hundreds of U.S. airstrikes in the conflict
Hit: A densely-packed area of Kobane is hit by a huge explosion as the battle for the frontier continued
Under attack: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said today Kobane was at a 'crisis moment' as ISIS floods in
Surveying the destruction: Kurds watch the smoke rising over Kobane at sunset tonight from Turkish territory
The
move came as Turkey announced that it will finally open its border to
allow hundreds of Kurdish fighters into Kobane to join the fight against
ISIS.
Officials
in the area hope that a final push will finally rid Kobane of ISIS, who
were reported to have been reduced to just two strongholds at the
weekend after being driven back by resurgent Kurdish fighters backed by
US airpower.
US
Secretary of State John Kerry declared the besieged Syrian settlement
was at a 'crisis moment', with huge numbers of ISIS militants flooding
into the line of Western fire.
During
the evening of sustained airstrikes on ISIS targets, C-130 cargo planes
made multiple drops of arms and medical equipment.
Mr
Kerry said the decision to carry out the airdrops was made because it
would be 'irresponsible' and 'morally very difficult' not to support the
Kurdish fighters.
The
move, on the same day as Turkey's opening of its borders, raised the
question of whether the weapon drops were strategically timed to arm the
new influx of soldiers.
In
a statement released last night, US Central Command said C-130 cargo
planes made drops of arms and medical supplies which had been provided
by Kurdish authorities in neighbouring Iraq.
More than 200,000 people have fled Kobane (pictured today) into Turkey; now some will be allowed back
Huge numbers of ISIS militants are believed to be sweeping into the city in a bid to seize control from the Kurds
As the explosions (pictured) rippled through Kobane, the Kurdish fighters were armed with new U.S. drops
Mr Kerry said: 'ISIL is presenting itself in major numbers in this place called Kobane'
The
airdrops were intended to support continued resistance to ISIS as the
Islamist extremist group attempts to gain control of Kobane.
Speaking
in Indonesia today, Mr Kerry told reporters that the administration
understood ally Turkey's concerns about supplying the Kurds, who are
linked to a Kurdish group that Ankara fiercely opposes.
But
he said the situation is such in the besieged town of Kobane that the
resupplies were deemed absolutely necessary in a 'crisis moment'.
'Let
me say very respectfully to our allies the Turks that we understand
fully the fundamentals of their opposition and ours to any kind of
terrorist group and particularly obviously the challenges they face with
respect to the PKK,' Mr Kerry said.
'But
we have undertaken a coalition effort to degrade and destroy ISIL and
ISIL is presenting itself in major numbers in this place called Kobane,'
he added using an alternative acronym for the terrorists.
Besieged: A huge
cloud of smoke is seen rising from a building in Kobane, which is
currently being defended by Kurdish forces against the incursion of ISIS
fighters
Fighting: Black smoke is seen rising from an ISIS-held building inside Kobane this afternoon
Conflict: The
airdrops were intended to support continued resistance to ISIS as the
Islamist extremist group attempts to gain control of Kobane
Going nowhere: Turkish tanks take up
positions on a hill overlooking the Syria-Turkey border during armed
clashes between YPG Kurdish fighters and Islamic State millitants in
nearby Kobane
A Turkish forces soldier rides on top of an armored vehicle as he patrols the Turkish-Syrian border today
Turkish military vehicles patrol the Turkish-Syrian border this afternoon as fighting continues to rage in Kobane
Turkey's
foreign minister said his country is now helping Iraqi Kurdish forces
cross into the Syrian border town of Kobane 'to give support' to fellow
Kurdish fighters there.
But
Mevlüt Cavusoglu did not elaborate, and it was not immediately clear
whether Turkey was actually allowing Kurdish fighters across the border
into Syria yet after blocking them for so long.
'Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government announced that they are in cooperation with Turkey and the U.S.,' Mr Cavusoglu said.
'Actually, we are helping peshmerga forces to enter into Kobane to give support. Turkey has no wish see Kobane fall.'
Hit: In a written statement, U.S. Central Command said its forces have conducted more than 135 airstrikes against ISIS in Kobane
Calm: Syrian Kurdish fighters are seen
walking in northern Kobane this afternoon. The photograph was taken
from across the border in Turkey
Hostile: One of the administration
officials said the airdrops should be seen as a humanitarian move,
saying US officials believe that if Kobane were to fall, ISIS militants
would massacre Kurds in the town
Comments: Secretary of State John
Kerry arrives at the airport in Jakarta for the inauguration of
President of Indonesia Joko Widodo
Loaded: The US military successfully completed its first series of airdrops to Kurdish military forces in Syria
Flight: An American warplane flies over Kobane just an hour after C-130 cargo aircraft dropped weapons
The unexpected development suggests Turkey may be softening its stance on the issue of helping the Syrian Kurds.
It
also raises the question of whether the American airdrops were
coordinated to help arm what may turn out to be hundreds of additional
Kurdish fighters flocking to help defeat ISIS in Kobane.
Barack Obama called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday
to discuss the situation in Syria and notify him of the plan to make
airdrops, one U.S. administration official told reporters.
He
would not describe Erdogan's reaction but said U.S. officials are clear
about Turkey's opposition to any moves that help Kurdish forces, whom
Turkey views as an enemy.
Spectators: Syrian Kurdish refugees
living in Turkey use binoculars to watch the ongoing fighting in their
hometown Kobane (pictured here and in the two images below)
Witness: Young Kurdish girls in Turkey watch the fighting continue to rage over the border in Kobane, Syria
According
to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the 'large
amount of weapons and ammunition' airdropped by U.S. planes has reached
the main Kurdish militia in Kobane.
The
Kurdish fighters in Kobane have been picking up and moving the weapons
since they were airdropped around dawn, said the Observatory, which has a
network of activists on the ground.
In
recent days, much of the coalition strikes have focused around Kobane,
which Islamic State group militants have been trying to seize since
mid-September.
Turkey
has so far provided sanctuary to an estimated 200,000 Syrians fleeing
from Kobane and dozens of nearby villages that were captured by the IS
group.
Syrian refugees now living in Turkey watch the ongoing fighting over the border in their hometown Kobane
A Kurdish family watches the Syrian town of Kobane from a hill near the Mursitpinar border crossing in Turkey
A group of Kurdish men living in Turkey huddle together as they watch the fighting rage in Kobane
Syrian refugee children, one flashing
the V-sign, peer through the window of a school building that has been
serving as a refugee center in the Turkish border town of Suruc, Turkey
MYSTERY OF AMERICAN JOURNALIST KILLED IN CAR CRASH IN TURKEY... JUST DAYS AFTER CLAIMING INTELLIGENCE SERVICES HAD THREATENED HER OVER COVERAGE OF THE SIEGE OF KOBANE
An
American journalist has been killed in a car crash in Turkey just days
after claiming she claimed the Turkish intelligence services had
threatened her over her reporting of the siege of Kobane.
Serena
Shim, who worked for Iran's state-owned Press TV as Turkey
correspondent, died in the city of Suruc after the car in which she was
travelling reportedly collided with a 'heavy vehicle'.
Shim's
death came just days after she spoke on camera of her fears of being
arrested, claiming Turkish intelligence agents had accused her of spying
after one of her reports suggested ISIS militants were being smuggled
back and forth over the Syrian border in the back of aid vehicles.
Tragic: Serena Shim, who worked for
Iran's state-owned Press TV as Turkey correspondent, died in the city of
Suruc after the car in which she was travelling reportedly collided
with a 'heavy vehicle'
Shim,
an American citizen of Lebanese origin, had been working in Turkey for
Press TV - the Iranian state-owned television network.
In
a report published on the company's website, it is claimed she had been
in a rental car on the way back to her hotel in the town of Suruc in
Urfa Province when the 'suspicious' accident took place.
Neither
the 'heavy vehicle' nor the driver involved in the crash have been
located after the incident, Press TV claimed, adding that her parents
'refused to believe' the crash had been an accident and are planning to
pursue the matter legally.
Press
TV's account of the crash has been somewhat disputed by Turkish
newspaper Hurriyet Daily News, however, who said the vehicle involved
was a cement mixer and that the as-yet-unidentified driver had been
arrested at the scene.
Death: Serena Shim's death came just
days after she spoke on camera of her fears of being arrested, claiming
Turkish intelligence agents had accused her of spying
Only last Friday Shim was interviewed on camera by Press TV about her fears of being arrested by Turkish intelligence agencies.
In
the short interview she alleged that she had been approached and
accused of spying after a report in which he said she claimed to have
received images of Islamic State terrorists being smuggled over the
Turkey-Syria in vehicles belonging to the World Food Organization and
other aid groups.
Shim
described herself as 'surprised' at the accusation, 'because I have
nothing to hide and I have never done anything aside my job.'
.JPG)
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