ISIS Suicide Bombs, Clashes Kill At Least 30 Near Kobani

At least 30 people were killed in clashes between Kurdish fighters and militants of the Islamic State group in the Syrian town of Kobani, near the Turkish border, after the militants detonated two suicide bombs Saturday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory, which relies on a network of informants on the ground, said that at least 21 ISIS militants were among those killed.

“Trusted sources told SOHR that a fighter from ISIS detonated himself in a car near the Syria-Turkey border, causing damage to the area. This was followed by clashes between ISIS and YPG (Kurdish fighters) in the area, during which a militant from ISIS detonated himself and killed a number of fighters from YPG,” the Observatory said, in a statement issued Saturday, adding that fighting in the strategic border town, which has been going on for over two months, had intensified overnight.

“At least 90 shells have been fired by militants of ISIS since this morning,” the Observatory said.

A Kurdish official in Kobani also told The Associated Press on Saturday that militants had opened a new front in their assault on the town and were now attacking it from across the border in Turkey.

Nawaf Khalil, a spokesperson for Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party told AP that ISIS militants in Turkey had targeted Kobani’s northern border crossing. If confirmed, this would be a first since the battle for control of the town began in mid-September.

Meanwhile, a Syrian government official said Friday that airstrikes by the United States-led coalition had failed to significantly weaken the Islamic State group, according to media reports.

“All the indications say that IS today, after two months of coalition air strikes, is not weaker,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem reportedly said. “If the Security Council and Washington do not force Turkey to control its borders then all of this action will not eliminate IS.”