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BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group continues to pour fighters and resources into trying to capture the Syrian border town of Kobani, but more than two months into the assault, Kurdish defenders have blunted the extremists' drive.
The Kurds have been helped by more than 270 airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition and are gaining momentum — a potentially bruising reversal for the extremists who only a few weeks ago appeared to be unstoppable.
The U.S. envoy for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State militants says IS is creating more targets for the U.S. and its allies as it masses fighters around Kobani. Retired Marine Gen. John Allen says IS has "impaled itself on Kobani."
Kobani-based activists say Kurdish fighters have made small but steady advances in the past two weeks following the arrival of the 150 Iraqi peshmerga forces with advanced weapons. Last week, Kurdish fighters seized a hill that overlooks part of the town, and on Tuesday, they captured six IS-controlled buildings and a large amount of weapons and ammunition.
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APPHOTO CAI306: FILE - This undated file photo posted on Monday, Nov. 4, 2014 by the Raqqa Media Office of the Islamic State group, a militant extremist group, shows Islamic state group fighters in Kobani, Syria. For a force that has built its reputation on projecting an aura of momentum and invincibility, the prolonged stalemate in Kobani is a setback for Islamic State militants with potential implications in terms of recruitment and support. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Office, File) (6 Nov 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI305: FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014 file photo, a military plane of the US led coalition flies above the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (9 Nov 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI304: FILE - This undated file photo posted on Monday, Nov. 4, 2014 by the Raqqa Media Office of the Islamic State group, a militant extremist group, shows an Islamic state group fighter in Kobani, Syria. For a force that has built its reputation on projecting an aura of momentum and invincibility, the prolonged stalemate in Kobani is a setback for Islamic State militants with potential implications in terms of recruitment and support. Nearly two months after it launched its lightning assault on the small Kurdish town, the group is bogged down with an increasingly entrenched and costly battle in which hundreds of its fighters have been killed and a good deal of its military apparatus destroyed. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Office, File) (6 Nov 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI303: FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 14, 2014 file photo, a Syrian Kurd holds his hand on to the barbed wire fence that marks the Turkey-Syria border on the outskirts of Kobani, seen from the Turkish side of the border outside the village of Yumurtalik. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (14 Nov 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI302: FILE -- In this Oct. 6, 2014 file photo, shot with an extreme telephoto lens and through haze from the outskirts of Suruc at the Turkey-Syria border, militants with the Islamic State group are seen after placing their group's flag on a hilltop at the eastern side of the town of Kobani, Syria. Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials. Still, most Kurds are moderate and secular-leaning Muslims. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File) (3 Nov 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI301: FILE - In this file photo taken on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (17 Nov 2014)
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