Washington: Kurdish forces appear to be holding out against Daesh militants in the Syrian border town of Kobani, the US military said on Thursday, following fresh US airstrikes in the area against a militant training camp and fighters.
US Central Command continues to monitor the situation in Kobani closely. Indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against Isil, it said, using an acronym for Daesh.
The statement comes as a monitoring group said on Thursday the US-led airstrikes have failed to halt the advance of Daesh fighters, who it said have seized more than a third of Kobani, near the Syrian border with Turkey.
The five latest US airstrikes, conducted Wednesday and Thursday, damaged an Daesh training camp and destroyed one of the militant groups support buildings as well as two vehicles, US Central Command said. They also hit one large unit and one small unit of militant fighters, it added.
The US bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft used in the attacks left the area safely, according to the statement.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Russia said that any plan to set up a buffer zone in Syria, as urged by Turkey, would need to be approved by the United Nations.
The UN Security Council must take the decision on such zones, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Turkey has been calling for a buffer zone to protect its border, and also provide some security for Syrian Kurds fleeing the onslaught by Daesh militants, and won backing from France.
The White House – which is leading a coalition of countries in an air campaign against Daesh militants – has said the idea is not yet under consideration. Lukashevich said that any unilateral attempts by one nation or a coalition to create a buffer zone would be illegitimate.
He warned that the unsanctioned US air strikes in Syria would be used by Daesh to further fan the flames of radical opinion.
Moscow has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assads regime throughout the countrys civil war and has repeatedly thwarted UN action against him.
More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the uprising against Al Assad in March 2011.
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