U.S. Airstrikes Target ISIS Fighters Near Kurdish Town
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military says fighter aircraft have conducted two strikes northwest of the Syrian city of Raqqa, hitting a large Islamic State group unit and destroying six militant firing positions.
The statement from U.S. Central Command didn't specify the location, but activists say coalition strikes targeted militant positions around the besieged Kurdish town of Kobani, near the Turkish border. The Islamic State group has pushed to the outskirts of the town and continues to advance despite airstrikes against its fighters by the U.S. and its Arab allies.
The activists say the airstrikes, combined with heavy clashes on the ground overnight, left at least 16 militants dead. At least 11 Kurdish militiamen were also killed in the fighting.
The assault on the town and surrounding villages has forced some 160,000 people to flee across the border to Turkey. Some of the fighting has spilled over into Turkey, with artillery rounds falling on Turkish soil.
One shell fired from Syria struck a house in a Turkish village today, wounding four people, including a child, according to a member of the family that owns the house.
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