“Kurdish
forces have driven Islamic State (IS) militants from Kobane,
officials say, ending a four-month battle for the northern Syrian
town.”
“Fighters
from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) were said to have entered
outlying areas in the east of the town after the jihadists retreated.
The US said anti-IS forces were in control of 90% of the town. Kobane
was seen as a major test of the US-led coalition's strategy to combat
IS in Syria with air strikes. Tens of thousands of people fled over
the nearby border with Turkey after IS launched an offensive in
September, capturing about 300 nearby villages before entering the
predominantly Kurdish town itself. The fighting has left at least
1,600 people dead, among them 1,196 jihadists, the UK-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.”
“Photographs
posted on social media on Monday afternoon showed the YPG flag being
flown around Kobane, and male and female fighters shaking hands. As
night fell, celebratory gunfire echoed across the town.”
“YPG
spokesman Polat Jan meanwhile declared on Twitter: 'Congratulations
to humanity, Kurdistan, and the people of Kobane on the liberation of
Kobane.'”
“Anwar
Muslim, the president of the self-declared Syrian Kurdish canton of
Kobane, told the BBC that the town was fully under the control of the
YPG and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who were deployed in
October. However, he added that the situation in the eastern
outskirts was still 'a little tense', with YPG fighters carrying out
'the final clean-up' and besieging areas they believed IS leaders
might be hiding.”
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