U.S.-Led Airstrikes Intensify Around Kobani

The U.S. coalition intensified attacks against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Kobani on Tuesday, launching 21 airstrikes in and around the Syrian border town, the Associated Press reports. This marks the highest number of strikes on Kobani since the beginning of the U.S.-led air campaign in Syria.

The battle for Kobani, which has lasted for nearly a month, has emerged as a major test of whether the U.S.-led coalition can push back ISIS.

Top U.S. officials contend that their anti-ISIS strategy is working, but acknowledged that the U.S. is constrained by the absence of forces on the ground.

“Our capacity to prevent that town from falling is limited by the fact that airstrikes can only do so much,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

“In the absence of any ground force there, it is going to be difficult just through air power to prevent [ISIS] from potentially taking over the town,” Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said over the weekend.

ISIS is in control of nearly half of the strategic town and reportedly claimed responsibility for three suicide attacks on Monday. On Tuesday, Kurdish fighters claimed they recaptured the strategically important Tall Shair hilltop that had been captured over 10 days ago by ISIS.

Turkey Launches Airstrikes on Its Own Kurds, as Syria Conflict Shakes Turkish Stability

In a fresh test for U.S. coalition-building efforts against ISIS, Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish militants inside its own borders after the army said it had been attacked by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Turkish airstrikes were the first major action against PKK rebels for two years. After a three-decade conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state, which left over 40,000 people dead, the two sides declared a cease-fire.

Across the border in Syria, Kurdish forces are fighting against ISIS, holding back jihadi fighters from taking over the strategic town of Kobani. Turkey’s failure to intervene in Kobani has rekindled its Kurdish problem at home. TIME magazine explained the series of events that linked the two:

“Kurdish protesters, enraged by Turkey’s refusal to provide military assistance to the besieged city, clashed with police, nationalists and Islamist radicals in several Turkish cities last week, leaving at least 30 dead,” wrote Piotr Zalewski.

“In the wake of the violence, the PKK’s leadership announced that its militant forces, who partially withdrew from Turkey under the terms of the 2013 cease-fire, were now poised to return.”

Syria Security Officials Fired After Protests by Regime Loyalists Angry at School Bombing

Two senior security officials in the Syrian city of Homs have been fired in what residents say is the response to a suicide bombing that killed dozens of children on October 1.

The bombing stirred rare public protests in the loyalist area of Akrameh, where most residents support the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Many of them called for the resignation of Homs Governor Talal Barazi and criticized official media for not acknowledging the high number of dead and missing among regime loyalists in other attacks.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the departure of the two security officials could lead to several personnel changes within the regime.

“They were fired in response to pressure from the loyalist community, who have been accusing the government of reckless disregard for their lives,” he told Reuters.

The wire article cited the significance of the shift: “Though rare for them to voice public anger, loyalists have done so increasingly since August, when the government lost the Tabqa air base to Islamic State militants in Raqqa province. Soldier’s families said more than 100 of their kin were left to die without attempts to save or resupply them.”

In early September, a pro-government Syrian activist was arrested after he launched a social media campaign calling on officials to provide information about hundreds of missing soldiers.

# Recommended Readings:#

Daily Beast: No Syrian Rebels Allowed at ISIS War Conference

Reuters: U.S. Led Airstrikes Intensify as Syria Conflict Destabilizes Turkey

Washington Post: Obama Faces Growing Pressure to Escalate in Iraq and Syria

Business Week: Islamic State Loses Its Oil Business

New York Times: CIA Study of Covert Aid Fueled Skepticism About Helping Syrian Rebels