Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - Kurdish fighters backed by US-led coalition air strikes were locked in a fierce battle Wednesday to prevent a key Syrian border town from falling into the hands of jihadists.The heavy clashes in Ain al-Arab on the border with Turkey -- a crucial recent battleground in the fight against the Islamic State group -- left at least 10 people dead overnight, monitors said.Kurdish forces have been on the retreat for more than two weeks in the face of a jihadist assault on the town that sent tens of thousands of refugees streaming across the border.With IS fighters less than three kilometres (two miles) from the town, the US-led coalition carried out at least five air strikes on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The Britain-based monitoring group said the strikes hit IS fronts south and southeast of the town, known as Kobane by the Kurds, where at least nine Kurdish fighters and one IS militant were killed in overnight fighting.Ain al-Arab would be a key prize for IS, giving it unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.The US-led coalition of Western and Arab allies is providing air support to local forces in their ground war against IS, an extremist Sunni Muslim group that has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.The US launched strikes in Iraq in August and has been joined by Western allies.

BING NEWS:
  • US military base in Syria under attack as five missiles launched from Iraq
    A US military base in Syria has been attacked by missiles fired from Iraq. The five missiles launched from Zummar in northern Iraq toward a US base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, Reuters reports.
    04/21/2024 - 10:20 am | View Link
  • Five commanders in Iranian-backed militias killed in Syria airstrike
    F ive commanders of Iranian-backed militias in Syria were killed in an airstrike on Tuesday, according to Saudi television station al-Hadath, cited by Israeli media that night. A further report ...
    03/19/2024 - 12:23 pm | View Link
  • Iraq condemns 'irresponsible' US air strikes on Iran-backed groups
    US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked dozens of times by Iran-aligned fighters since the war in Gaza started in October. The US and UK have also carried out strikes on Yemen's Iran-backed ...
    01/23/2024 - 4:05 pm | View Link
  • US, UK launch large-scale retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed Houthi militants
    The official said that the strikes involved a mix of fighter jets ... Prosperity Guardian established in late December to defend commercial vessels from Houthi attacks as they transited the ...
    01/11/2024 - 11:23 am | View Link
  • More

 

Welcome to Wopular!

Welcome to Wopular

Wopular is an online newspaper rack, giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.

Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular, MWB, RottenTomatoes

Subscribe to Wopular's RSS Fan Wopular on Facebook Follow Wopular on Twitter Follow Wopular on Google Plus

MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site

More Business News