The Associated Press Published Saturday, December 20, 2014 7:42AM EST BEIRUT - A Kurdish official and an activist group say Kurdish fighters have advanced in the contested northern Syrian town of Kobani after heavy clashes with the Islamic State group. Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, says Kurdish fighters advanced Saturday in six neighbourhoods and have besieged the IS-held Cultural Center east of town. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the main Syrian Kurdish force, known as the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, killed several IS fighters. Related Stories Kurdish Iraqi forces launch operation to retake militant-held Sinjar Inside Kobani: Kurdish fighters doggedly defending town from Islamic State Inside the last war clinic on the Syrian front line The IS group began its Kobani offensive in mid-September, capturing parts of the town as well as dozens of nearby villages. Kurdish forces have gradually pushed the extremist group back in recent weeks with the help of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes. Read more: ctvnews.ca/world/kurdish-fighters-advance-against-isis-in-kobani-activists-1.2156825#ixzz3MS29Mp3s
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:12:11 +0000