US Air Strikes Against ISIS In Syria ‘Ineffective’ In Slowing Advance On Kobane
The recent U.S.-led air strikes carried out on the terror network of ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, in Syria, have reportedly been “ineffective” in stopping the militant organization’s advance on Kobane, which sits on the Kurdish border.
According to a report in The Independent, Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Unit (YPG), who are backed by fighters from the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), have been engaged in a fierce battle with ISIS for some time now as ISIS look to seize control of Kobane, which is a key town on the border with Turkey.
Despite President Obama’s recent pledges to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, not only in Iraq but also in Syria, local sources have reported that the air strikes are, by and large completely “ineffective,” as YPG’s chief of defense for Kobane, Ismat Sheikh Hassan, told reporters.
“They struck empty buildings. ISIS fighters used to be there but they left, so they haven’t helped us. If anything, they are now fighting harder to push forward before there are more strikes.”
As it stands, ISIS fighters are currently just three miles away from Kobane and have already seized a number of surrounding villages, which they are including in their makeshift “Caliphate” state in Iraq and Syria.
Around 140,000 Kurdish civilians have already fled the town since ISIS’s advance began, with numerous refugees from villages reporting that ISIS terrorists had beheaded civilians in the communities they captured and paraded them in the street in order to intimidate locals.
Hassan told the publication, “We only heard they had happened on the public radio – behind Isis lines the villages are empty. The people who stayed have been killed and everybody else has left.”
When asked specifically whether or not the YPG would retreat to Turkey as and when ISIS attack Kobane, Hassan added, “Don’t worry, guys, we won’t leave Kobane. I’m ready to be executed by Isis but I’m not ready to leave my town. Whether the world helps us or not, we will defend our city. Kobane will be the cemetery of ISIS.”
