ISIS Reportedly Attacks Kobani From Turkey, But Turkish Officials Deny Allowing Attack

ISIS fighters have reportedly begun to attack the Syrian border town of Kobani from Turkey, though Turkish officials deny the claim.

On Saturday, the Islamic militant group launched a suicide attack in the critical city. A suicide bomber reportedly drove an armored truck to a border crossing with Turkey.

The attack led to accusations that Turkey has allowed ISIS fighters to use their land for the attack, or at least turned a blind eye to it.

The Islamic State group “used to attack the town from three sides,” said Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party. “Today, they are attacking from four sides.”

But Turkish officials denied that they were hosting ISIS, saying that the ISIS fighters did not enter Kobani through Turkey

“Claims that the vehicle reached the border gate by crossing through Turkish soil are a lie,” read the statement released from the government press office at the border town of Suruc. “Contrary to certain claims, no Turkish official has made any statement claiming that the bomb-loaded vehicle had crossed in from Turkey.”

“The security forces who are on alert in the border region have… taken all necessary measures,” the statement added.

ISIS militants had clashed with Kurdish forces in Kobani for several months, and it often appeared as if ISIS forces would take the critical town. But a strong defense from Kurdish fighters aided by air strikes from U.S.-led coalition forces were able to push back the fighters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted earlier this month that at least 100 Islamic State fighters were killed in three days of fierce fighting. The group note that close to 600 ISIS militants were killed in Kobani from September 16 through the beginning of November.

“Over the last three days, at least 100 members of ISIS and its religious police have been killed… in Kobani and its surroundings,” the Observatory said in a statement Saturday.