Kurds try to advance on western outskirts of Kobane

Beirut, Oct 16 (IANS/EFE) Kurdish forces have launched an attack on the western outskirts of the Syrian town of Kobane bordering Turkey, in an attempt to gain ground against militants of the Islamic State (IS), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Thursday.

The NGO said preliminary reports indicated that the Kurdish People's Protection Units had advanced through the area, where Tuesday they recovered Tal Shair, 4.5 miles from Kobani.

Meanwhile, aircraft of the US-led international coalition overnight bombed IS targets in the east of the city, where clashes were reported near a government security complex seized by the jihadis.

Fighting also continued in the south of Kobane, where Kurdish forces reportedly came under attack.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units, meanwhile, targeted IS positions at the National Hospital in the southwest of the city.

Kobane, one of the three main Kurdish enclaves in Syria, has been under siege by the IS for the past month.

At least 662 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to figures released by the SOHR Thursday.

--IANS/EFE

ab/bg