IS Gains Ground In Kobani Despite Airstrikes

Islamic State militants have captured more ground in a Syrian border town despite intensified US-led airstrikes.

IS fighters seized control of a third of Kobani on Thursday as calls grew louder for neighbouring Turkey to send ground forces to support the town's beleaguered Kurdish defenders.

Overnight, a US-led coalition carried out five airstrikes south of Kobani, destroying an IS support building and two vehicles operated by the extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

US Central Command said it was continuing to monitor the situation, adding "indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL".

US officials have warned that the airstrikes alone may not be enough stop the IS advance on Turkey's doorstep.

Barack Obama on Wednesday met with military commanders to discuss the campaign amid fears troops would be needed on the ground.

"Our strikes continue, alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission," the US president said.

Video: US Warns IS Could Take Kobani

"As I've indicated from the start, this is not something that is going to be solved overnight."

Senior US commanders have warned that the Islamists could take Kobani if more is not done.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said: "Airstrikes alone are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of Kobani.

"We know that. And we've been saying that over and over again.

"We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages and perhaps Kobani will be taken by IS."

Video: Sam Kiley On The Battle For Kobani

Rear Adm Kirby said troops would be needed to defeat IS, adding: "We don't have a force inside Syria that we can co-operate with and work with."

Over the past few days, thousands of IS fighters armed with heavy weapons looted from captured army bases in Iraq and Syria had managed to push into some areas.

The fighting has forced 200,000 residents and villagers to flee and seek shelter across the border in Turkey.

Idriss Nassan, deputy head of Kobani's foreign relations committee, said the town was "still in danger" and more airstrikes were needed.

The Kurdish population, who live in many of the areas IS controls in northern Syria, northern Iraq and parts of southeast Turkey, has been pressuring Ankara to intervene to defend Kobani.

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Gallery: Protests Rage In Turkey Over IS

Residents walk through a damaged street in downtown Diyarbakir following overnight clashes with police
Violence erupted in Turkish towns and cities, mainly in the Kurdish southeastern provinces, as protesters take to the streets to demand more be done to protect Kobani
Kobani, a predominantly Kurdish settlement which has been surrounded by Islamic State fighters for three weeks
Kurdish protesters set fire to a barricade set up to block the street as they clash with riot police in Diyarbakir
Flames are seen near a Turkish police vehicle in Diyarbakir during a demonstration of Kurds to demand more western intervention against Islamic State militants (IS) in Syria and Iraq
Kurdish protesters set fire to a public bank
A branch of Halkbank is set ablaze
Kurdish protesters clash with Turkish riot policemen
Police used tear gas and water cannon in Istanbul
Smokes rises from the Gaziosmanpasa district in Istanbul
A public bus burned by Kurdish protesters is pictured at the Gaziosmanpasa district

But so far, Turkey has ruled out leading a ground operation on its own.

Turkey says it does not want the town to fall and has encouraged the US to set up a no-fly zone and a humanitarian corridor (buffer zone) on the border.

France is backing calls for a buffer zone and the US and Britain said they were willing to "examine" the idea of a safe haven.

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