[Quite evidently, Turkey and the US (and most of its allies) are not exactly on the same page. Turkey has a long and bitter history of its relationship with its own Kurds fighting for freedom, which has been suppressed with an iron hand. That far predates the ISIS or even al Qaeda. That history will not simply cease to exist because of the present crisis. On the other hand, for the US, the Kurdish Peshmagras, and other sections, are the principal allied forces fighting on the ground against the ISIS. So, there are wheels within wheels. And, that's how life is.]
I/II. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/fails-take-kobane-airstrikes-kill-more-five-fighters-371060255 IS fails to take Kobane, as airstrikes kill five more fighters#IslamicState <http://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/islamicstate> Kurdish fighters continue to complain of a lack of support from the Turkish government Kurdish protesters gather on a hill opposite the Syrian town of Kobane (AFP) MEE and agencies <http://www.middleeasteye.net/users/mee-and-agencies> Sunday 5 October 2014 10:26 BST Last update: Monday 6 October 2014 15:45 BST Kurdish fighters supported by US-led air strikes held back Islamic State militants attacking a Syrian border town Saturday. Dozens of fighters from IS, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, were reported killed in the latest coalition raids. The dusty town of Kobane on the Turkish border has become a key battleground between IS and its opponents, who include Kurdish fighters as well as the United States and its allies. The US military said four air strikes hit the area overnight. Fighting raged on Saturday as IS fighters attempted to seize a strategic hilltop that would give them access to the town, activists said. Mortar rounds pounded the town as smoke rose above it, an AFP team on the Turkish side of the border said. "The resistance is continuing. The danger has not yet been overcome," Sebahat Tuncel, a Kurdish member of Turkey's parliament, told reporters after visiting Kobane. Five IS militants were killed in American air raids near the town, as well as 30 more around Shadadi in northeastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. IS militants fired at least 80 mortar rounds Friday into Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic. The fighting killed at least 10 Kurdish militia members, said the Britain-based Observatory, which monitors the conflict. But activist Mustafa Ebdi said the Kurds had been buoyed by their success at holding off the assault so far, noting that IS had hoped to capture the town by Saturday for the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival. "So far they have failed to enter the town," Ebdi said. Some locals criticised inaction on the part of the Turkish government. "Firstly the Turkish government took a long time to take any action, and now that they are taking action, it is not sufficient," said Aslam Mehmoud, a former Kobane resident, talking to Al-Jazeera. "They have just deployed their military to protect their own land here, but are in no way helping the Kurds in this fight," "We expect the government to help our Kurdish fighters with military assistance, not words," local resident Umit Mercan told Al Jazeera. "So many are getting injured, because they are running short of weapons to fight." Turkish Kurds in Diyarbakir, the 'capital' of Turkish Kuridstan have closed their shops in protest at the government's lack of action. IS began its advance on Kobane on 16 September, seeking to cement its grip over a long stretch of the border. It has prompted a mass exodus of residents from the town and the surrounding countryside, with some 186,000 fleeing into Turkey. Meanwhile, Syrian state media reported coalition strikes Saturday in Al-Quriyah in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, with a tank destroyed. In neighbouring Iraq, unidentified gunmen killed 10 soldiers and Shiite allied militiamen in two separate attacks in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. American bombers and fighter jets also carried out five air strikes against IS in Iraq, the US military said. II. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/syrians-kurds-push-back-isil-from-kobane-hill-201410671849840817.html Syrians Kurds push back ISIL from Kobane hill Kurdish fighters make progress against ISIL on Mishtenur hill, which overlooks key Syrian town on border with Turkey. Last updated: 06 Oct 2014 18:07 ISIL fighters have been trying for nearly three weeks to seize Kobane [AP] Syrian Kurds have pushed back fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from an area of high ground known as the Mishtenur hill, overlooking the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, on the border with Turkey. ISIL had attempted to storm the town from both east and west of the strategic hill, but Kurdish fighters repulsed the attack on Sunday, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. ISIL had seized part of Mishtenur hill late on Saturday, but US-led air strikes slowed their advance. According to Reuters news agency, at least thirty Kurdish fighters were killed in two suicide attacks on two checkpoints run by Kuridsh fighters in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakah, the obervatory's Rami Abdelrahman said. ISIL fired at least 10 rockets at the town of Kobane on Sunday, the observatory said, as the two sides fought over the strategic town. The latest fighting came a day after a Kurdish female fighter blew herself <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/kurdish-suicide-bomber-attacks-isil-syria-201410518318542637.html>up at an IS position on Sunday, the observatory said. *Clashes continue* The observatory said heavy clashes took place overnight, with US-led coalition airstrikes killing at least 16 fighters. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Urfa in Turkey, said shelling and heavy gunfire continued all morning on Monday, as the battle for Kobane continued. Smith said about 2,000 or 3,000 Syrian Kurds were fighting with powerful weapons, but have been demanding more. He said Salah Muslim, the leader of the Syrian Kurds, had met with Turkish security officials and asked for more weapons, rather than Turkish soldiers joining the fighting, and permission to enter Turkish territory to pick up the arms. ISIL fighters have been trying for nearly three weeks to seize Kobane, in a bid to cement their grip over a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border. The attacks since mid-September have sent more than 160,000 Syrians fleeing into Turkey. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
