ISIL militants surround Kobane on three fronts

Islamic Extremism

As the conflict over Kobane drags into its 41st day, ISIL is attacking the Kurdish city on three fronts.

The only way into the city now is at the nearby border with Turkey, but Turkey has been reluctant to allow fighters to cross. CCTV-America’s Natalie Carney reports.

Kurdish fighters struggled to hold on to a corner of the city as ISIL militants surrounded it from the east and the south. The terrorist group is said to be bringing in 1,000 new recruits to continue their siege of the Kurdish city.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces are awaiting the arrival of perhaps 150 peshmerga soldiers being sent by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq through Turkey.

Hopes were raised following Turkey’s announcement that it will allow peshmerga forces across its border, but with little-to-no news about their arrival, optimism faded.

“Of course we are happy the peshemerga are coming, but they are coming too late,” said Khalil Altay, a resident of Suruc. “They should have done this before all the Kurdish fighters were killed in Kobane, but Turkey just stood there, not doing anything to support them.”

While Turkey has not intervened militarily, it has taken in as many as 180,000 refugees fleeing the violence in Kobane.