Kurds struggle to defend besieged Syrian town
SURUC - Kurdish militiamen are putting up a fierce fight to defend a Syrian town near the border with Turkey but are struggling to repel advances by the Islamic State group, which is pushing in from two sides, Syrian activists and Kurdish officials said Saturday.
The battle for Kobani is still raging despite more than two weeks of airstrikes by the US-led coalition targeting the militants in and around the town. The strikes, which are aimed at rolling back gains by the group, appear to have done little to blunt the onslaught by the extremists on Kobani that began in mid-September.
A senior Kurdish official, Ismet Sheikh Hasan, said clashes were focused in the southern and eastern parts of the town. He said the situation was dire and appealed for international help. "We are defending (the town) but ... we have only simple weapons and they (militants) have heavy weapons," he said in a call with The Associated Press Friday evening. "They are not besieged and can move easily," he said.
