IS attacks Kobani using car bombs; dozens killed

Islamic State (ISIS) fighters attacked the towns of Kobani and Hassakeh under the cover of darkness, using car bombs and commando-style assaults to kill dozens of people.

The near simultaneous attacks came after the Islamic State suffered major losses in other parts of Syria this past week at the hands of Kurdish-led forces. The Kurdish gains have notably sparked concern in Turkey that the Kurds, which have clashed with Ankara for decades, are growing too strong.

In Kobani, ISIS – apparently disguised in Free Syrian Army uniforms – detonated two car bombs and destroyed a Turkish border crossing before attacking the town from different directions, the Guardian reported.

The clashes between ISIS and Kurdish forces left up to 30 people dead and scores injured, local activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported that at least 20 Syrian Kurds, including women and children, were shot dead in a nearby village.

A spokesman for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), Redur Xelil, said many of the Islamic militants were still holed up in Kobani, but that Kurdish militiamen were combing the area to root them out.

Kobani was nearly taken over by ISIS late last year, but Kurdish fighters backed by the U.S.-led coalition retook the city during a months-long battle that became a symbol of the Kurds’ ability to successfully repel the Islamic radicals.

ISIS fighters storm government-held areas of Hasakeh

At about the same time, Islamic State militants assaulted the northeastern city of Hassakeh, apparently aided by defectors from militias that had been aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In the fourth IS assault on Hassakeh, which is divided between the Assad regime and the Kurds, they stormed Syrian government-held neighborhoods, pushing the army into the city center, officials and state media said.

According to the Observatory, 30 pro-regime troops and 20 militants have been killed so far in the fighting. The casualties in the city, the largest in northeastern Syria, also included a large number of civilians.

The regime has responded with a series of airstrikes on militant positions south of the city.

Ban Ki-moon: U.N. Security Council needs to take ‘urgent action’ on Syria

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world body’s Security Council needs to take “urgent action” on Syria, amid daily reports of atrocities and rights abuses, Reuters reported.

According to the report, Ban did not say exactly what the Security Council should do. However, his former aid, chief Valerie Amos, had recently suggested an arms embargo and sanctions for violations of humanitarian law.

“I also ask the council to take urgent action in the face of the continuing atrocities and human-rights abuses taking place in Syria on a daily basis,” Ban wrote in the June 23 report. “Lack of action will throw Syria deeper into chaos and deprive the country of a peaceful and prosperous future.”

Ban noted that some 12.2 million people in Syria need help, including more than 5 million children. About 7.6 million are internally displaced and more than 4 million have fled to neighboring countries and North Africa.

Last year, the Security Council failed to refer the four-year war in Syria to the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Syria’s ally Russia, backed by China, vetoed the move and three other resolutions threatening Assad’s government with sanctions.

Recommended reads

• Bloomberg: How Iranian Oil Tankers Keep Syria’s War Machine Alive
• Devex: Syria response underfunded, impacting regional stability
• The National: Syria needs a museum in exile … and quickly
• Al Ahram: The legacy of Hafez Assad and the future of Syria