Kurds reclaim hill from Islamic State, tear down flag
Date October 15, 2014 - 11:15AM
Richard Spencer
A black flag of the Islamic State has been taken down after it was symbolically raised on top of a hill two weeks ago in Kobane, Syria. Photo: Getty Images
Northern Iraq:
The US air force has launched its heaviest bombardment yet in support of Kurdish forces in northern Syria as they began a fightback against jihadists around the embattled town of Kobane.
The Kurds reclaimed a hill west of the town, taking down an Islamic State flag visible from the Turkish border which had become a symbol of the advances made by the terror group in recent weeks.
They were helped by 21 air strikes over two days, the US military said. "Indications are that air strikes have slowed ISIL (another acronym for Islamic State) advances," a statement said.
Photo: Alleged Islamic State militants stand with the flag earlier this month. Photo: AFP
"However, the security situation on the ground there remains fluid, with ISIL attempting to gain territory and Kurdish militia continuing to hold out."
The Kurds have held out longer than many predicted against the siege, which began two weeks ago, and in which ISIL were able to bring to bear advanced American weapons seized from the Iraqi armed forces in June.
However, ISIL fighters have managed to enter the town, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, from the south and east, and fierce street-by-street battles continue. They control at least a third of the town.
The US has built up its air strikes gradually, hampered by a lack of detailed information of ISIL positions on the ground, and the 21 hits reported on Tuesday are by far the heaviest concentration of attacks so far. The statement said that ISIL staging areas, bases and compounds, along with ISIL vehicles had been struck.
Another strike hit Tal Shair, the hill to the west of Kobane, enabling Kurdish fighters to charge it and take down the black ISIL flag that had overlooked the town for days.
It was largely a symbolic gesture, as it made no apparent impact on the fighting in the town, but the result was visible from the Turkish side of the border, from where residents who have fled Kobane have gathered to watch the fighting. The US air strikes contrast with the attitude of the Turkish authorities, which are refusing to allow the US to use Turkish air bases and are restricting the movement of Kurds trying to join the fight.
The Kurds complained yesterday that a consignment of arms sent to help them by the Kurdish autonomous regional government in neighbouring Iraq had been held up in another Kurdish enclave in north-eastern Syria.
The Turkish authorities had refused to allow them to use the only route to get the arms into Kobane, which would have taken them through Turkish territory.
The dominant political faction in Kurdish Syria, which is leading the fight in Kobane, is a group called the YPG, which is affiliated to the Turkey-based guerrilla movement the PKK.
The PKK is Marxist and has been fighting a three-decade war for autonomy against Ankara. It is proscribed by the United States, Nato and the EU as a terrorist organisation.
The US regards it as the lesser of two evils in the fight against ISIL, but the Turkish government, despite a two-year ceasefire pending peace talks, still remains hostile to its political ambitions and is determined to stop it forging an independent region in northern Syria.
On Monday night, Turkish jets even bombarded PKK positions near the Iraq border, after several days of fighting in spite of the ceasefire around a government military checkpoint.
Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, said he had ordered "necessary measures". He also accused the Kurds of trying to "blackmail" Ankara into taking action over Kobane.
The PKK has given the Turks until today to resume peace talks, and also said they would end if Kobane fell to ISIL without Turkish intervention.
The Turks are reluctant to join the fight against ISIL unless the Western-backed coalition against it also targets the Assad regime in Syria, which they regard as the cause of Syria's problems and whose downfall they demand.
Telegraph, London
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