Syrian Kurds still hold most of Kobane: US military

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

Turkish soldiers sit on a tank as they observe the Syrian town of Kobane in the southeastern Turkish village of Mürşitpınar, Oct. 9. AFP Photo / Aris Messinis

Kurdish fighters appeared to control most of the Syrian border town of Kobane Oct. 9 amid continued U.S. air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists, the U.S. military said.

U.S. Central Command said American bombers, fighter aircraft and drones struck five times south of Kobane, damaging or destroying an ISIL training camp, a building and two vehicles.        

The strikes also hit two ISIL combat units, one small and the other large, said the command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the region.

"U.S. Central Command continues to monitor the situation in Kobane closely," it said. "Indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL."       

ISIL forces have been advancing on Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, whose fall would give the jihadist group control over a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.