ISIL pushes into Syrian town despite US raids

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have continued to advance into the Syrian Kurdish dominated town of Kobane, despite the US-led air campaign against the self-declared jihadist group. More than 15,000 residents have fled the northern Syrian town as ISIL fighters pushed deeper fighting fierce battles with Kurdish armed groups on Saturday. Kobane, known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic, is close to the Syrian-Turkey border.

Many of the people we have spoken to do not see the usefulness of the strikes as the ISIL continues to push into their areas.

Stefanie Dekker, Al Jazeera reporter

The US, backed by Arab allies, launched its first air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria on Tuesday after hitting hundreds of targets in neighbouring Iraq, where the group has also captured large swathes of territory. Activists in Raqqa said the US-led coalition had hit several ISIL positions in the province on Saturday, killing dozens of fighters. Several attacks targeted the Tabqa air base, which the self-declared jihadists captured from the regime last month. An ISIL training camp was also hit, as well as one of the group’s checkpoints, the activists said.

Middle East ISIL