The black flag of ISIS now taunts those within eye sight of the Turkish border, according to The Washington Post. The flag was seen waving over Kobane (also known as Ain al-Arab) in Syria. Control of this city would give the Islamic State more Syrian-Turkish border under their control.
AFP via Yahoo reported that the seizure of Kobane started with jihadist suicide bombers and that the forces fighting ISIS, including the U.S., have used air strikes as lately as this morning in an attempt to regain control of the city. "The U.S. military said its forces and those of partner nations conducted three strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, including south of Kobane, on Sunday and Monday using fighter and remotely piloted aircraft," reported The Washington Post.
An activist in Kobane, Mustafa Ebdi, was quoted by Yahoo as saying that the airstrikes had no effect because ISIS is not south of the city. "There are other places they should be hitting," he reportedly said.
ISIS has gained control of the south and west areas of the city and continue to fight in the streets, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Director Rami Abdel Rahman. Rahman said that ISIS fighters had "retreated by a few streets in the eastern areas they seized yesterday, but the fighting has now spread to the south and west of the town."
Yahoo reported that Kurdish fighters ordered inhabitants of Kobane to evacuate and that nearly 2,000 have fled to the Turkish border.
The Washington Post quoted Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz as telling the Associated Press that NATO does have a plan to defend Turkey, should the country be attacked by ISIS. "NATO's joint defense mechanisms will be activated," The Post quoted from the AP.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was also quoted as giving support to Turkey. During a news conference, Stoltenberg reportedly said, "Turkey should know that NATO will be there if there is any spillover, any attacks, on Turkey as a consequence of the violence we see in Syria."
