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Siege of Kobanî

January 01, 1970

Siege of Kobanî
Part of the Syrian Civil War,
Rojava-Islamist conflict,
and the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War

A map showing the progression of the siege of Kobanî, from October 2014 to January 2015
Date15 September 2014 – 20 March 2015
(6 months and 1 week)
Location
Kobanî (Ayn al-Arab), Kobanî Canton, Syria
Result Rojava Federation victory[9]
Territorial
changes
  • YPG-led forces recapture the whole of Kobanî city in late January 2015,[10] and almost all of the villages previously lost in the Kobanî region by mid-March 2015[11]
  • 70% of Kobanî city was destroyed in the battle[12]
  • YPG-led forces launch an offensive on Sarrin on 20 March 2015[13]
  • Turning point in coalition Rojava-Islamist conflict, and eventual military destruction of ISIS held territory
Belligerents

Rojava
PKK[1]
 Kurdistan Region (from 30 October)[2][3]
Free Syrian Army[4]
CJTF-OIR

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Commanders and leaders
Salih Muslim Muhammad[14]
Narin Afrin[15]
Mahmud Berxwedan[16]
Ismet Sheikh Hassan[17]
Meryem Kobani[18]
Hebun Sinya  †[19]
Faisal Saadoun ("Abu Layla")[20][21]
Muhammad Mustafa Ali ("Abu Adel")[22]
Hasan al-Banawi ("Abu Juma")
(from 18 November 2014)[23]
Abdul Qader Sheikh Muhammad ("Abdo Dushka")[24]
Saleh Ali ("Abu Furat") †[25]
Nizar al-Khatib ("Abu Laith")
(until 18 November 2014)[26]

Abu Ayman al-Iraqi † (Head of Military Shura)[27]
Abu Ali al-Anbari
(Deputy, Syria)
Abu Omar al-Shishani
(Field commander in Syria)[28][29]
Abdul Nasser Qardash[30] (Deputy emir of the Delegated Committee)[31]
Abu Ali al-Askari † (ISIL senior commander)[32]
Abu Mohammed al-Masri † (ISIL senior commander)[32]
Abu Khattab al-Kurdi †
(Commander)[32]
Othman al-Nazih †[33]
Sultan al-Safri al-Harbi †
Hassan Aboud

Akhmed Chatayev
Units involved

Euphrates Volcano

Peshmerga[2]

PKK

MLKP[39]
TKP/ML TİKKO[40]
United Freedom Forces[41]
People's Liberation Faction[42] (until January 2015)[43]
CJTF-OIR

Military of ISIL

Strength

1,500–2,000 YPG & YPJ (Kurdish claims as of 1 November 2014)[47]
600 PKK[48]
300 FSA (originally)[49]

50[50]–200[51] FSA (reinforcements)		 9,000+ fighters (Kurdish claims)[52]
30–50 MBTs[53]
2 UAVs[54][55]
Casualties and losses
YPG & YPJ:
562[56]–741[57] killed
(3 MLKP)[39]
FSA and Jabhat al-Akrad:
29[56]–72[16][58] killed
Peshmerga:
1 killed (accident)[59][60]		 1,422[*][56]–2,000[61] killed (per SOHR)
2,000+[**] killed (per U.S.)[62]
1,068–5,000[**] killed,[63][64][65]
18 tanks destroyed[59][66]
2 drones shot down (per Kurds)[55]
Hundreds of civilians killed[56][67]
Over 400,000 civilians fled to Turkey[68]
* Additional hundreds of deaths by airstrikes[69]
** 1,000+ by US-led Coalition airstrikes[70]

The siege of Kobanî was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 13 September 2014,[71] in order to capture the Kobanî Canton and its main city of Kobanî (also known as Kobanê or Ayn al-Arab) in northern Syria, in the de facto autonomous region of Rojava.

By 2 October 2014, the Islamic State succeeded in capturing 350 Kurdish villages and towns in the vicinity of Kobanê,[72] generating a wave of some 300,000 Kurdish refugees, who fled across the border into Turkey's Şanlıurfa Province.[73] By January 2015, this had risen to 400,000.[68] The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and some Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions (under the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room), Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and American and US-allied Arab militaries' airstrikes began to recapture Kobane.[74]

On 26 January 2015, the YPG and its allies, backed by the continued US-led airstrikes, began to retake the city, driving ISIL into a steady retreat. The city of Kobanê was fully recaptured on 27 January; however, most of the remaining villages in the Kobanî Canton remained under ISIL control.[10][75] The YPG and its allies then made rapid advances in rural Kobanî, with ISIL withdrawing 25 km from the city of Kobanî by 2 February.[76][77] By late April 2015, ISIL had lost almost all of the villages it had captured in the Canton, but maintained control of a few dozen villages it seized in the northwestern part of the Raqqa Governorate.[11] In late June 2015, ISIL launched a new offensive against the city, killing at least 233 civilians,[78][79] but were quickly driven back.

The battle for Kobanî was considered a turning point in the war against Islamic State.[80] The siege was referred by some to be the "Kurdish Stalingrad".[81][82]

Background edit

During the Syrian Civil War, the People's Protection Units (YPG) took over Kobanî (Arabic: Ayn al-Arab) on 19 July 2012.[83] Since then, the city has been under Kurdish control, while the YPG and Kurdish politicians exercise autonomy for what they call Rojava.[84]

In August 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, the Suqour al-Sham Brigade, and the al-Tawhid Brigade announced that they would besiege Kobanî. However, infighting between the groups erupted in January 2014 and some of them began to align with the YPG under the name of the Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front. In March 2014, ISIL captured Sarrin and several other towns and villages from the YPG and the EILF. Clashes continued through May.[85]

On 2 July 2014, the city and the surrounding villages came under attack from ISIL.[86]

ISIL advance edit

 
The situation at the beginning of ISIL's offensive against Kobanî, on 15 September 2014
  Controlled by Kurdish forces
  Controlled by the Syrian opposition
  Controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

On 15 September 2014, ISIL launched a massive offensive to take the Kobanî Canton and the city of Kobanî, pushing into the villages at the western and eastern borders of the Canton.[87] On 17 September 2014, following the capture of a strategic bridge over the Euphrates on 16 September,[88] ISIL launched a large offensive using tanks, rockets and artillery in the direction of Kobanî, and within 24 hours, captured 21 villages. The advance left Kobanî encircled by ISIL forces, and it also forced the remaining Free Syrian Army fighters to the southwest of the Kobanî Canton to retreat to the city of Kobanî.[89] Two days later, ISIL captured 39 more villages,[90] bringing their forces within 20 kilometers of Kobanî.[91] 45,000 refugees crossed into Turkey, fearing an ISIL takeover of the region,[92] while a number of refugees were stopped at the border and ordered to return to Kobanî by Turkish authorities.[93] The inhabitants of 100 villages were evacuated after coming under continuous shelling, and dozens of civilians and YPG fighters were killed as the ISIL advance continued.[94]

On 20 September, ISIL forces came within 15 kilometers of the city of Kobanî[67] after capturing three more villages, and started bombarding areas within 10 kilometers of the city.[citation needed] Meanwhile, more than 300 Kurdish fighters reached Kobanî from Turkey as reinforcements.[67] Senior Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) official Murat Karayilan appealed to Kurdish youth in Turkey to join Kurdish forces in Syria. During the day, three rockets exploded within Kobanî, spreading fear among its inhabitants.[95] Since the start of the offensive, 34 civilians had been killed,[67] while the number of refugees had reached 60,000.[67]

By 21 September, ISIL militants captured 64 villages; 39 ISIL and 27 Kurdish fighters had been killed in the previous 48 hours.[96] Kurdish forces evacuated at least 100 villages on the Syrian side after ISIL militants began their offensive against the Kurdish villages.[97] ISIL troops came within 10 kilometers of the city and continued to advance,[citation needed] with the fighting concentrated in the southern and eastern suburbs of Kobanî, 13 kilometers from the city proper.[98] The next day, a Kurdish spokesman reported that the ISIL advance east of the city had been halted during the previous night.[99] Despite the stalled advance, ISIL forces shelled the center of the city, and clashes continued in the vicinity of the village of Mojik (about 6 km west of Kobanî) and the village of Alishar (7 km east of Kobanî).[100] On the same day, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that more than 130,000 Syrian Kurds fled across the border into Turkey, escaping an advance by ISIL jihadists.[101]

On 24 September, ISIL forces continued their advance south of the city. This brought ISIL within 8 kilometers of the south of Kobanî, the closest they had been to the city since the offensive started on 15 September.[102] ISIL had increased its forces in the Kobanî Canton to at least 4,000 by this time.[citation needed] During the advance, ISIL forces captured the villages of Robey and Tall Ghazal, and the nearby grain silos.[103][citation needed] In addition, an ISIL source claimed that their forces had also captured several villages to the west of Kobanî. The front line to the west had moved to the cluster of villages called Siftek, as more ISIL fighters and tanks arrived for the offensive during the previous day.[102] The next morning, ISIL fighters were only 2 kilometers away, as clashes were continuing. By this point, ISIL controlled 75 percent of the Kobanî canton, while Kurdish forces only had control of the city of Kobanî, the smaller town of Shera, and around 15 villages nearby.[104]

On 26 September, ISIL troops captured a hill from which YPG fighters had been attacking them in recent days, 10 km (6 miles) west of Kobanî. ISIL also captured a village about 7 km to the east of Kobanî.[105]

Coalition airstrikes and Kobanî besieged edit

 
Map showing the evolution of the siege of Kobanî, 2014:
  1 March
  18 September
  21 September
  24 September

On 27 September, US-led coalition planes bombed the area around Kobanî for the first time, targeting positions in the village of Alishar, 4 kilometers from the city, which was used as a command and control center by ISIL.[106] Despite the coalition airstrikes against frontline ISIL positions, they were still able to begin shelling the city of Kobanî, wounding several people.[107] The US' initial reluctance to launch airstrikes to help the Kurdish city was believed be caused by its unwillingness to upset Turkey, who preferred a Kurdish defeat.[108][109][110]

By 28 September, 1,500 Kurdish fighters coming from Turkey reinforced the Kurds in Kobanî.[111] The next day, ISIL forces approaching from the south and the southeast came within 5 kilometers of the city,[112] while Kobanî faced sustained bombardment for a second day.[113] The next day, ISIL troops approaching from the east advanced within 2–3 kilometers of Kobanî.[114] During the fighting, the Kurds reportedly destroyed two ISIL tanks. ISIL fighters also captured the village of Siftek, to the west, and used it to stage attacks on Kobanî itself.[115] The village of Kazikan was also captured.[116]

On 1 October, Islamic State forces advanced southeast of Kobanî and on the western front, from where Kurdish forces retreated.[117] This resulted in ISIL troops capturing one of the final villages on the outskirts of Kobanî, and approaching to within one kilometer of the town's entrance. At this point, Kurdish fighters in Kobanî were reinforcing their positions with sandbags to prepare for potential house-to-house fighting.[118] By evening, amid a sharp shortage of weapons, Kurdish forces withdrew from the city suburbs, as ISIL forces continued their advance.[119] As ISIL forces entered the suburbs of Kobanî, some refugees reported torture, rape, murder, and mutilation at the hands of ISIL.[120] ISIL militants were reportedly beheading Kurdish fighters, including women.[121]

By 2 October, ISIL forces had captured 350 of the 354 villages around Kobanî,[122] and were positioned only hundreds of meters to the south and southeast of the city.[123] Intense firefights had erupted that day, resulting in 57 ISIL deaths in the east of the city, while an Iraqi ISIL commander and eight other militants were killed in the southern sector.[124]

The next day, ISIL militants took control of Kobanî's southern and eastern entrances and exits.[citation needed] They had also taken a strategic hill and a radio tower, which overlooked the town.[citation needed] Later, a Kurdish fighter reported that ISIL militants had entered the city's southwestern fringes, and that fighting was ongoing.[125] The US-led coalition conducted at least seven air sorties against ISIL targets around Kobanî within five days, until 2 October, when the US didn't carry out any strikes,[126] before reportedly carrying out further strikes late on 3 October.[127] During the night of 3/4 October, an ISIL attempt to breach the city was repelled.[128] Coalition airstrikes continued on 4 October, targeting ISIL logistics, units, artillery positions, and a personnel carrier.[129] By this point, the city was essentially empty, as nearly all residents, except the defenders, fled to Turkey.[citation needed] The last foreign journalist also left on 4 October.[130] In all, some 90% of the region's population had evacuated.[131][132]

Battle for Kobanî city edit

Fighting in Kobanî edit

First week edit

 
Coalition airstrike in Kobanî on Islamic State position, October 2014

On 5 October, ISIL managed to capture the southern side of Mistanour Hill outside Kobanî city, and a Kurdish activist said if ISIL captured the hill, it would give them easy access to the city.[133] The clashes at Mistanour involved hand-to-hand fighting.[134] For the first time, a Kurdish female fighter (Deilar Kanj Khamis, also known by the nom de guerre Arin Mirkan[citation needed]) blew herself up in a suicide attack on an ISIL position,[135] killing 10 ISIL fighters.[136] Later, after seizing full control of Mistanour Hill,[137] ISIL militants entered the southeastern edge of Kobanî, and street-to-street fighting began.[138] This was the first time the jihadists had entered the city proper itself.[139] ISIL managed to break through Kurdish defenses, after 30 of their fighters raced across the open fields at the city's eastern edges. The ISIL fighters were backed up by snipers, heavy machine gun fire, and shelling from Mistanour Hill.[140]

On 6 October, the jihadists penetrated about 100 meters into the city,[141] and an ISIL flag was raised on top of a four-story building in southeastern Kobanî, shortly after which another was raised on top of the nearby Mistanour Hill that had been captured the previous day.[136][142] By this time, the number of ISIL militants deployed to the Kobanî Canton had increased to 9,000.[52] The militants then made an attempt to advance further, but while entering Street 48, they were ambushed by People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters, and 20 jihadists were killed.[139] Throughout the day, fighting raged for control of the Maqtala al-Jadida and Qani Arab districts,[143] which ended with ISIL forces capturing both neighborhoods, as well as the industrial zone of Kobanî.[144]

 
YPG fighters during the battle

By the morning of 7 October, Kurdish forces managed to expel ISIL fighters from most of the eastern part of Kobanî that they had captured during the previous night, although ISIL fighters were still present in parts of the eastern neighborhoods. Meanwhile, ISIL forces captured several buildings on the southern side of the city, as well as a hospital under construction on the western side.[145] The Kurdish success in the eastern part of town came after several U.S. airstrikes during the night and morning targeted ISIL positions and destroyed a tank, three technicals, and an ISIL unit, and damaged a tank and one technical. ISIL anti-aircraft artillery was also hit.[146]

On 8 October, Kurdish fighters expelled ISIL forces from most of their previous gains in the city, following a new round of U.S. airstrikes[147] that targeted the rear positions of the ISIL fighters.[148] One of the targets hit was a concentration of ISIL fighters near a mosque in the eastern part of the city. However, despite the airstrikes, the jihadists soon launched a new assault in the eastern part of Kobanî, as ISIL reinforcements arrived,[149] allowing them to push 50–70 meters west of the industrial zone, capturing the market area.[150] By evening, ISIL militants had advanced an overall 100 meters towards the city center.[149] Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters captured Sh'ir on the western outskirts of Kobanî.[151]

On 9 October, ISIL forces were in control of more than a third of the city, including all of the eastern areas, a small part of the northeast, and an area in the southeast.[152] ISIL also captured the Kurdish police headquarters, which they had targeted the previous night with a large suicide truck-bomb. The clashes in that area left a high-ranking Kurdish police commander dead.[153] The captured police station was then targeted by US-led coalition aircraft and destroyed.[154] To create a smoke screen from coalition planes, ISIL fighters started setting fire to buildings, and towers of black smoke burned for hours on the top of Mistanour Hill. Later, it was reported that Kurdish fighters made advances against ISIL in the eastern part of the town, while FSA fighters attacked ISIL forces from the rear, inflicting heavy losses.[155] According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Kurdish forces managed to besiege a group of ISIL fighters in the police headquarters.[156] The clashes around the building left 11 ISIL fighters killed, and four were captured by the Kurds.[157] At this point, Kurdish forces were faced with the risk of running out of ammunition.[158]

 
Two U.S. F/A-18F Super Hornets of VFA-22 take off from USS Carl Vinson to support Operation Inherent Resolve, October 2014

On 10 October, ISIL fighters advanced towards the city center[159] and captured the Kurdish military headquarters, which would potentially allow them to advance on the border post, and thus rout the Kurdish forces inside Kobanî. With the capture of the headquarters, ISIL was in control of 40 percent of the town.[160] For the first time, ISIL tanks were seen inside the city.[161] Meanwhile, Kurdish and Syrian rebel fighters retreated from Sh'ir hill on the western outskirts, which they had captured two days earlier. In order to avoid coalition airstrikes, ISIL fighters resorted to transporting new supplies of ammunition to the city by motorcycles,[citation needed] while also flying YPG flags on their vehicles to mislead coalition aircraft. ISIL militants wearing YPG uniforms began infiltrating Kurdish lines.[162] Later that day, an ISIL suicide car-bomb exploded near the Grand Mosque, west of the security quarter,[163] which was followed by clashes in an attempt by ISIL to capture the mosque which would give them a good vantage point for their snipers over a wide area of the city.[citation needed]

On 11 October, ISIL forces attempted to take the center of Kobanî, but were repelled by YPG forces and American airstrikes on ISIL positions.[164] Even so, by this point, ISIL was in control of almost half the city, after securing the area housing administrative and security buildings, and were advancing along the street that divides the eastern and western parts of the town.[165]

Second week edit

 
Approximate boundary of the frontline during the fighting in Kobanî, in late October 2014

On 12 October, ISIL reinforcements were dispatched to the battle after the militants suffered heavy losses during the previous day.[166] ISIL seized the water wells on the outskirts of Kobanî, although the lack of diesel due to the siege already rendered them useless for the Kurdish fighters and civilians in the city.[167]

On 13 October, ISIL carried out three suicide bombings against Kurdish positions in Kobanî.[168] One suicide truck-bomber blew himself up in northwest Kobanî, which opened the way for ISIL forces to advance and capture the New Cultural Center,[169] leaving them in control of 50 percent of Kobanî.[168] A second bomber attempted to reach the border crossing, but his bomb exploded prematurely,[170] and the ISIL attack on the border crossing was repelled.[168] The third bomber attacked Kurdish forces to the west of the security quarter,[171] who had managed to advance slightly against ISIL in the area. Kurdish fighters also recaptured some ISIL positions in the south of the city.[172] According to a Kurdish fighter, if ISIL took control of the border crossing "it's over." He said that despite Kurdish forces repelling the ISIL attack on the crossing point, it was "impossible" for them to hold their ground if the same situation continued.[173] A day later, Kurdish fighters recaptured Tall Shair hill, west of Kobanî.[174]

 
YPG improvised fighting vehicle in Kobanî

From 13 to 15 October, the U.S. conducted 39 airstrikes on ISIL positions in and around Kobanî, 21 of which occurred on the night of 13 October. This allowed Kurdish fighters to make progress against the jihadists in the ISIL-held parts of the city.[175] The strikes killed 39 ISIL fighters.[citation needed] Kurdish forces said that the airstrikes had become much more effective, due to them starting to coordinate with the U.S. by providing them targets for the strikes.[176] The number of strikes had risen to 53 by 17 October.[177]

On 15 October, the deputy head of Kobanî's foreign relations committee claimed that the advances Kurdish forces made left them in control of 80% of the city,[178] which could possibly lead to them regaining control of the town.[179] The next day, Kurdish commander Baharin Kandal told the BBC News that Islamic State fighters had retreated from most of the town, with two areas of continued resistance remaining.[180]

On 18 October, ISIL launched a fierce new assault from the east towards the border crossing, in an attempt to cut off Kurdish fighters in Kobanî. However, the attack was repulsed while more ISIL reinforcements were being sent.[181][182] By this point, ISIL fighters were still present in the south and east sectors of Kobanî, and were believed to hold around a third of the town.[183] Later, two ISIL car-bombs exploded, one west of the security quarter, near the municipal building, and the other in the al-Hurreyyi Square, near the ISIL-held Cultural Center Building. During the day, ISIL bombarded the city with 41 shells.[184]

Third week edit

On 19 October, YPG fighters advanced in the Kani Erban area, where they took over two ISIL positions, while ISIL managed to advance, west of the security quarter. The US-led coalition launched six airstrikes on ISIL positions between 18–19 October.[185] Later, 3 U.S. transport aircraft dropped 27 bundles totaling 24 tons of small arms and ammunition, as well as 10 tons of medical supplies that were supplied by Kurdistan Region to the Kurdish fighters defending Kobanî.[186][187] In a statement released by the U.S. Central Command,[188] it was stated that the airdrops were "intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL's attempts to overtake Kobanî." According to reports, one of the bundles landed in an ISIL-held area, and was subsequently bombed. Another bundle that landed off target was recovered by Kurdish forces.

Coalition airstrike against ISIL VBIED near Kobanî, on 21 October 2014

On 20 October, two ISIL car-bombs exploded in the northern part of the city.[189] A day later, ISIL militants claimed on social media to have taken hold of at least one cache of the US airdropped supplies, as shown in an uploaded video by ISIL militants; the cache included hand grenades, ammunition, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.[190][191]

On 23 October, ISIL militants once again captured Tell Sh'ir Hill, after hours of fighting. But the hill was targeted by airstrikes in the evening, and was recaptured by the Kurds later on during the night.[192] The fall of the hill came as a result of a new assault by ISIL militants that had started the night before and had continued into the next day.[193] The next day, reports from Kobanî suggested that ISIL fighters may have used an unidentified chemical weapon in the battle for the city.[194]

Fourth week edit

On 26 October, ISIL failed for the fourth time to capture the border gate with Turkey[195] in the northern al-Jomrok neighborhood.[196] The next day, ISIL released another video with British hostage John Cantlie, in which he claims that the city of Kobanî was mostly under ISIL control, with only a few pockets of Kurdish resistance remaining. He also claimed that the Battle of Kobanî was "largely over," and that ISIL forces were mostly mopping up in the city. The captions in the video displaying the Turkish flags at the border, claimed to have been filmed by one of the four ISIL drones. However, the video has been deemed as pure ISIL propaganda, especially since analysts claim that it was filmed about a week earlier. Additionally, 200 Iraqi Kurdish forces were expected to arrive in Kobanî as reinforcements, via the Syrian-Turkish border.[54]

On 28 October, a fifth attempt by ISIL to capture the border crossing was also repelled, while preparations were underway for the Peshmerga to cross the border with Syria from Turkey.[citation needed]

FSA and Peshmerga reinforcements arrive edit

 
YPG sniper during the siege

On 29 October 50 Syrian Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters crossed the border from Turkey into Kobanî.[citation needed] Two days later, more than 20 vehicles with Kurdish Peshmerga forces entered the city of Kobanî from Sh'ir Hill in the western countryside of the city.[197] The Iraqi Peshmerga forces numbered around 150, and brought heavy weapons and ammunition. These arrivals marked the first time Turkey allowed ground troops from outside Syria to reinforce the Kurds defending Kobanî.[198]

On 1 November, the People's Protection Units (YPG) advanced towards the al-Haj Rashad Mosque area.[199] A day later, in an interview, FSA commander Abdul-Jabbar Ekada stated that 320 FSA fighters were present in the city, and that ISIL militants controlled 60% of Kobanî.[200] On the following day, pro-Kurdish news agencies reported that the villages of Arbus, Manaza, Albalur, and Cikur were cleared of ISIL members.[201][202]

On 5 November, the Iraqi Kurdish regional government in Erbil delivered several truckloads of ammunition that secretly crossed into Kobanî via Turkey, to help the town's defenders. Also, officials in the town claimed that since the arrival of Peshmerga reinforcements, several ISIL advances had been halted, resulting in ISIL losses of "possibly hundreds."[203]

YPG and FSA regain ground edit

 
The situation in Kobanî on 16 November 2014, after the YPG briefly captured the strategic Mistanour Hill. However, the YPG lost control of the hill to ISIL forces within 4 days, and retook control of the hill on 19 January 2015.

On 8 November, the YPG advanced near the al-Haj Rashad and al-Baladia neighborhoods in Kobanî.[204] Two days later, ISIL was calling "dozens" of its fighters from other parts of the Aleppo Governorate to participate in the fight for Kobanî, due to the heavy casualties inflicted upon its forces in the fight for control of the town.[205]

On 11 November, the YPG recaptured an undisclosed number of streets and buildings in the southern part of the town.[206] Also, a very important military leader for ISIL, according to a report by SOHR, said that ISIL militants were shocked and demoralized by the "fierce resistance" put up by YPG fighters, as they had expected victory within a few days of storming the town.[207] The next day, Kurdish forces cut off a road used as a supply route by ISIL. The road connects Kobanî with Raqqa, the ISIL's headquarters. The Kurdish forces managed to cut off the supply route from Raqqa after capturing parts of the strategic Mistanour Hill.[208]

On 16 November, YPG units advanced east of al-Baladia area and north of the Security Square.[209] Two days later, Kurdish fighters captured six buildings which, according to the director at SOHR Rami Abdulrahman, "were in a strategic location in the town's north, close to Security Square where the main municipal offices are based." The Kurds also seized "a large quantity of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, guns and machine gun ammunition."[210] ISIL launched two attacks the next day; the first was an attempt to recapture the six buildings they had lost the day before, and the second was aimed at the Kobani-Aleppo road to the town's southwest. There were reports of ISIL casualties.[211] On 17 November, it was also reported that Abu Khattab, one of the ISIL's commander in Kobanî, had been killed in an ambush set by YPG fighters in the village of Tell Bakr.[32] Also, 28 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes in Kobanî, including two high-ranking ISIL commanders, Abu Ali al-Askari and Abu Mohammed al-Masri.[32]

On 20 November, ISIL forces launched another attack on Mistanour Hill, in another failed attempt to regain control of the parts of Kobanî that they had lost to Kurdish forces. ISIL also launched another assault east of the border gate.[212]

On 25 November, YPG fighters recaptured several buildings on the outskirts of Kobanî, as well as the cultural center in the town. They also advanced in the governmental square, and east of Azadi yard.[213]

 
YPG and YPJ fighters in a destroyed part of the town

On 28 November, YPG took the al-Baladia and Azadi yard, as well as Souq al-Hal and the governmental square after ISIL fighters pulled back from these positions, while an ISIL reconnaissance drone was shot down above the town. Kurdish fighters captured weapons and ammunition during their advance.[214]

On 29 November, ISIL launched a counterattack by detonating four suicide cars and explosive belts, following clashes between the two parties in the town. According to the SOHR, eight YPG fighters and 17 ISIL fighters were killed in the clashes.[215] It also reported that ISIL took back the Azadi yard from the YPG, after losing it the previous day.[216] According to the German news outlet 'Der Spiegel', ISIL fighters also attacked YPG positions near the border gate from Turkish soil.[217] According to the SOHR, YPG fighters crossed the Turkish border and attacked ISIL positions on Turkish soil, before pulling back to Syria. Soon afterwards, the Turkish Army regained control of the border crossing and silos area.[218] Also, YPG fighters carried out a military operation targeting an ISIL vehicle in the village of Tal Ghazal in the southern countryside of Kobani, killing 2 militants, including a local emir,[219] and advanced in the south of the town, reaching the Aleppo-Kobani road near Tarmek village. YPG fighters also regained control over a building in the Azadi Yard.[218] In all, 50 ISIL militants, 12 FSA, 11 YPG, and three unknown pro-Kurdish fighters were killed on 29 November.[218]

On 1 December, the YPG recaptured the Botan Gharbi neighborhood, located in the southern part of the town, and advanced in the northwestern part of the Mistanour Plain.[220] The next day, ISIL detonated a car bomb on the outskirts of that neighborhood.[221] The YPG expanded their control over the southern part of Kobanî on 4 December, resulting in the death of 10 ISIL militants and one YPG fighter.[222]

Between 8 and 13 December, YPG seized a number of ISIL positions in the southern part of Kobanî, as well as some points on Tarmek street.[citation needed][223]

On 20 December, YPG fully besieged the cultural center after it took the street around it.[224]

 
YPJ fighters in Kobanî's outskirts

On 26 December, in a sixty-sixth round of airstrikes on ISIL in Syria, the United States and coalition partners carried out four airstrikes in and around Kobanî, destroying three ISIL buildings and two ISIL vehicles.[225]

On 1 January 2015, the YPG recaptured the Rash library and the Botan area south of Kobanî, thus recapturing the eastern section of the town, and ending up controlling 70% of Kobanî.[citation needed] On the next day, ISIL commander Sheikh Othman Al-Nazeh was reportedly killed by an airstrike in Kobanî.[33]

On 5 January 2015, YPG units recaptured the governmental and security district and the al-Refia, al-Sena'a, al-Tharura, and al-Banat schools. YPG also advanced in the Mishtanour neighborhood south of the town. According to SOHR, at this point, the YPG controlled at least 80% of Kobanî city. At least 14 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes.[226] The next day, ISIL fighters launched an attack within the vicinity of the Rash bookstore. The attack was countered by the YPG.[227] Elsewhere, a BMP infantry fighting vehicle was destroyed among other vehicles, with several weapons captured. That day's failed offensive was considered the largest YPG counter-attack in Kobani since 28 December 2014. In all, 47 ISIL fighters were killed during the assaults on that day.[228]

On 16 January 2015, an ISIL militant detonated a suicide belt near the government square, while the YPG destroyed an APC and seized a Humvee during the fighting. Between 15 and 16 January 23 ISIL militants and 8 YPG fighters were killed in the clashes.[229]

YPG recaptures Kobanî city edit

 
YPG fighters raise their flag over the town

On 19 January 2015, YPG fighters fully recaptured Mistanour Hill south of Kobanî, killing 11 ISIL militants. By recapturing the hill, the YPG controlled the ISIL supply routes to Aleppo and Raqqa.[230] The next day, YPG also captured the national hospital and reached the southwestern entrance of the town.[231] On 21 January, the first Peshmerga fighter was killed in the battle.[citation needed]

On 23 January, YPG fighters captured two streets to the east and the north of Rash Library, as well as Souq al-Hal and large parts of the northwestern part of the al-Senaa neighborhood,[232] bringing 70% of the city under their control.[233] The next day, YPG also recaptured the Sharia School and Sidan mosque, as well as the village of Termak in the southern countryside of Kobanî. At this moment, ISIL presence in Kobanî was reduced to two neighborhoods.[234] The village of Mamid was recaptured by YPG and FSA fighters on 25 January 2015. ISIL lost 12 militants and a vehicle in the clashes.[235] On the same day, YPG fighters cut the ISIL supply route to Kobanî.[citation needed] By that time, ISIL control of Kobanî was reduced to 10%. ISIL dispatched an additional 140 fighters, most of them under the age of 18.[236]

On 26 January, the YPG forced remaining ISIL forces in Kobanî to retreat and managed to enter the eastern outlying areas,[75] thus fully recapturing the city. After the recapture of the city, YPG fighters were carrying out "the final clean-up" and besieging areas they believed ISIL leaders might be hiding.[10] ISIL resistance persisted in the eastern outskirts of Kobanî, and parts of the surrounding Kobanî region remained under ISIL control.[10] Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said, "I'm not prepared to say the battle is won. The battle continues, but friendly forces have the momentum." He also said that Kurdish forces controlled about 70% of the territory in and around Kobanî,[237] which includes 90% of the city itself.[238] The U.S. confirmed that the city had been cleared of ISIL forces on 27 January,[239] and ISIL admitted defeat in Kobanî city three days later, although they vowed to return.[240] At this time, ISIL redeployed much of its initial invasion force to other "more important fronts".[238]

Retaking the Kobanî Canton edit

After pushing ISIL out of Kobanî city on 27 January, the YPG and FSA started advancing on ISIL-held villages in the region.[241]

On 27 January, YPG fighters recaptured the village of Helnej southeast of Kobanî, and they also besieged ISIL forces in the southern countryside of the city.[242] On the next day, YPG and FSA fighters recaptured Kolama village, Seran mall, and Noroz hall.[243]

By 6 February, YPG forces recaptured over 100 villages in the Kobanî Canton that they had lost to ISIL during the previous year.[244] The Kurds reported they faced "no resistance" from ISIL forces, due to the fact that ISIL kept "withdrawing its fighters" whenever the YPG entered another village.[245] According to the SOHR, most ISIL militants to the west of Kobanî were ethnic Turks. Also, during this phase, some ISIL militants surrendered themselves to the Turkish border guards.[244]

On 8 February, while ISIL steadily retreated from the villages to the south and the east of Kobanî, it was reported that the YPG and FSA faced stiff resistance from ISIL forces in the villages to the west of Kobanî, as ISIL wanted to retain control over their territory in Aleppo Governorate.[246] Experts voiced concerns that ISIL could return with a vengeance, given the group's fluidity and history of counterattacking after apparent withdrawals.[247] On 9 February, ISIL tactically withdrew some of its fighters and military hardware from other villages in the Aleppo province to reinforce the Kobanî frontline.[248]

On 15 February, the YPG seized the Baghdak Hill and Jareqli Hill in fighting that killed 35 ISIL and four YPG fighters.[249] The next day, YPG forces backed by rebels captured Khondan, thus regaining control over 2,000 square kilometers of the northeastern Aleppo countryside.[citation needed] On 17 February, YPG and rebels seized the Aleppo-Hasakah road and seven villages in the Raqqa province during clashes in which 10 ISIL militants and one YPG fighter were killed.[250]

On 26 February, it was reported that the YPG and FSA has retaken some of the last ISIL strongholds in the western Kobanî countryside, killing over 23 ISIL militants. An airstrike targeted the local ISIL command center in al-Shuyookh Gharbi, killing at least 8 militants, including prominent leaders.[251]

By 1 March, YPG forces, backed by FSA fighters, had recaptured 296 villages. ISIL deployed reinforcements to the southern and eastern parts of the Kobanî Canton, as they wanted to prevent YPG and FSA forces from reaching the de facto ISIL capital of Raqqa.[252] Kurdish forces were reportedly planning to build on their advances and capture Tell Abyad, thus connecting the Kobanî Canton to the Jazira Canton.[253][254]

Between 1 and 6 March the YPG and FSA, supported by airstrikes, besieged ISIL militants at the French-owned Lafarge Cement Plant and seized 11 villages, including Shuyukh Tahtani and Shuyukh Fawqani, the last two villages in the western part of Kobanî Canton still held by ISIL, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. As a result, ISIL retreated to Jarabulus, before blowing up the western end of the Jarabulus Bridge in order to prevent Kurdish forces from reaching that city. 98 ISIL militants and 11 YPG fighters were killed during the clashes.[79] It was also reported that ISIL militants from Tell Abyad were crossing over into Turkey and re-emerging in the villages to the west of Tell Abyad, to stage attacks on Kurdish-held villages near the edge of the eastern frontline.[79]

On 9 March, as a result of the recent Kurdish gains, and the Kurdish advance towards the Sarrin grain silos, ISIL attempted to launch a counterattack from Sarrin, in the southern part of Kobanî Canton, capturing the villages of Jill, Khan-Mamdid, and Sal. ISIL also assaulted several villages north of Sarrin. However, a Coalition airstrike halted the ISIL advance. In addition, airstrikes blew up an oil refinery at Al-Mumbteh,[79] just northwest of Tell Abyad. The explosion killed 30 ISIL militants and refinery workers in the area.[255][256] 13 YPG fighters were killed during the clashes in the Mandek area, west of the village of al-Jalabiyyi.[257] It was also reported that the YPG and allied forces had begun shelling the ISIL-held city of Jarabulus, across the west bank of the Euphrates River.[79] The next day, the YPG recaptured Mandek, Khwaydan, Khan-Mamed, and Hamdoun. The fighting left 15 Kurdish fighters and 12 ISIL fighters dead.[258]

On 13 March, fighting along the frontline killed 7 ISIL militants and 2 FSA fighters.[79]

On 15 March, after a renewed YPG assault, supported by airstrikes, in Qara Qozak caused the ISIL defense there to collapse and forced them to retreat, ISIL militants blew up the Qara Qozak Bridge, to prevent YPG forces from crossing over to the west bank of the Euphrates. The remaining ISIL militants gathered in a house near the bridge, which was promptly destroyed by a Coalition airstrike.[259] On the next day, it was confirmed that all of the remaining ISIL fighters in Qara Qozak had either been killed or surrendered, leaving YPG and FSA forces in full control of the town. 45 ISIL militants and at least 4 YPG fighters had been killed at Qara Qozak, between 13 and 15 March. Three days later, the Coalition destroyed the remainder of the Qara Qozak Bridge, to prevent ISIL reinforcements from reaching Sarrin.[79][259] With this, Kurdish forces had recaptured almost all of the villages previously lost to ISIL in their initial September 2014 assault on the Kobanî Canton. ISIL continued to maintain control of a few dozen villages they captured in the northwestern part of the Raqqa Governorate, as well as a few villages in the southern part of the Canton.[260]

Aftermath edit

 
The situation after the end of ISIL's siege of the Kobanî Canton, on 29 April 2015. Most of ISIL's advances since September 2014 had been reversed, and YPG-led forces were battling for control of Sarrin.
  Controlled by Kurdish forces
  Controlled by the Syrian opposition
  Controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
See also: Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015), Tell Abyad offensive (2015), Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015), and Kobanî massacre
CJTF-OIR airstrike on an ISIL mortar position near Kobani, 19 April 2015

Over the next few days, the YPG seized control of a hill overlooking Sarrin, the last remaining ISIL stronghold in the southern part of the Kobanî Canton.[79]

On 20 March, the YPG and the allied Burkan al-Furat, backed by Coalition air support, launched an assault on Sarrin,[13] which led to hit-and-run fighting until 28 March.[79][261]

On 21 March, the YPG captured Tel Kharab Zir[79][262] and advanced into Akbesh and Tell Kazan.[79] Meanwhile, YPG and FSA forces completely besieged the Sarrin grain silos. A total of 71 ISIL militants and 1 FSA fighters were killed during the clashes and Coalition strikes. On the night between 22 and 23 March, ISIL dispatched reinforcements from to Sarrin, across the Tishrin Dam, which the Coalition did not target, due to the risks that destroying the dam would pose to those living downstream.[79]

On 25 March, the YPG reportedly captured the village of Al-Jalabiyya in the Raqqa province. Meanwhile, ISIL forces attacked the village of Qara Qozak by boat, but the attack was repelled by the YPG and airstrikes struck the gathered ISIL forces on the other side of the river. The clashes led to the deaths of at least 71 ISIL militants and 4 YPG fighters.[79] Two days later, fighting in the southern villages of Sebti and Khani left three ISIL militants dead.[261]

During the next 3 weeks, the YPG and FSA advance along the southern and eastern borders nearly stalemated, as ISIL continued pouring reinforcements into the region. The clashes that erupted during this period of time killed at least 195 ISIL militants, along with at least 14 YPG fighters and 2 FSA fighters.[79]

Between 12 and 14 April, YPG-FSA joint forces captured seven villages and the French-owned Lafarge Cement Plant in Raqqa Province, and repelled an ISIL counterattack on 12 April. At least 30 ISIL militants,[263][264] and at least 3 YPG and 2 FSA fighters were killed during this period.[79]

On 9 April, an ISIL counterattack pushed YPG forces back from Sarrin and retook the grain silos, breaking past YPG defense lines at the M4 Highway. However, a YPG counter-offensive during mid-April, with the aid of US-led Coalition airstrikes, allowed them to slowly advance towards the city again.[79]

By 17 April, the YPG had recaptured 332 of the 350 villages they had lost in the initial ISIL offensive, in September 2014.[56]

By 20 April, the YPG had fully recaptured Jill, Hamdoun, Kayful, Sal, and the neighboring villages. The YPG had also captured Ras al Ayn on 19 April, which severed ISIL's supply line to Sarrin from the east, allowing the YPG and allied forces to surround Sarrin.[265] The clashes over the past few days, from 16–19 April, were reported to have killed at least 27 ISIL militants and 3 YPG fighters.[79]

On 20 April, YPG forces captured Ras al Ayn, allowing the Kurds to sever ISIL's supply line to Sarrin from the east, and effectively besieging the city from both the east and the west.[265] Also, YPG forces began attacking the last ISIL supply route to Sarrin, which lay south of the city.[266] On 21 April, it was reported that YPG forces to the east of Sarrin came within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) the gates of Sarrin, and YPG forces were continuing to advance, despite reports ISIL had heavily mined the approach to the city.[79]

On 21 April 2015, the YPG and allied forces had recaptured territory up the M4 Highway, including the Sarrin grain silos, Septe, and the other neighboring villages, allowing YPG forces to advance further southward towards Sarrin.[11][267] The clashes around the Sarrin grain silos were reported to have killed at least 20 ISIL militants over the past two days.[79] This advance allowed the YPG to recapture nearly all of the territory that they had lost during ISIL's September 2014 offensive, except for a few dozen villages that ISIL had captured in the northwest Raqqa Province. By 21 April 2015, a total of 4,460–5,000 ISIL militants had been reportedly killed in the Kobanî Canton since 15 September 2014, according to Kurdish sources.[268][65] On 22 April, it was reported the Sarrin grain silos were still held by around 50 ISIL militants,[79] but a "near total" siege had been imposed on them.[269]

Early on 25 April, after three days of repeated ISIL attacks on Mistras failed, Kurdish forces and their allies launched an all-out offensive on Sarrin from several fronts, backed by reinforcements, to dislodge ISIL.[79][270] It was reported ISIL forces stationed near Sarrin had retreated the city and heavy fighting had erupted in the northern, western, and eastern suburbs.[79] YPG and FSA forces also pushed into the northern part of the city.[270][271] On 26 April, YPG-led forces entered the eastern outskirts of the city.[272] By 26 April, it was reported the YPG-led push into Sarrin had slowed, as ISIL continued sending more reinforcements.[79]

Early on 29 April 2015, the last 124 Peshmerga fighters stationed in Kobanî returned to Kurdistan Region, as the city had been secured. Kurdistan Region also stated that no more troops would be sent to Kobanî.[273]

June 2015 Kobanî massacre edit

Main article: Kobanî massacre

On 25 June 2015, fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant detonated three car bombs in Kobanî, close to the Turkish border crossing.[274] The ISIL fighters were reported to have disguised themselves as Kurdish security forces, before entering the town and shooting civilians with assault rifles and RPGs.[275][276] Kurdish forces and the Syrian government claimed the vehicles had entered the city from across the border, an action denied by Turkey.[277] ISIL also committed a massacre in the village of Barkh Butan, about 20 kilometres south of Kobanî, executing at least 26 Syrian Kurds, among them women and children.[278] In total, around 164 people were killed and 200 were injured by 27 June, making the attack one of the largest killing of civilians carried out by ISIL in northern Syria.[275]

Tomb of Suleyman Shah operation edit

The Turkish Army mounted a rescue operation across the border to evacuate its soldiers from the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, an exclave of Turkey south of Kobanî. The Turkish convoy reportedly transited through Kurdish-held Kobanî en route to the tomb. One Turkish soldier was killed in what Ankara described as an accident. The success of the operation was announced 22 February by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.[279]

Humanitarian needs and reconstruction edit

 
Kurdish refugees from Kobanî in a refugee camp, on the Turkish side of the Syria–Turkey border

The humanitarian response to the people from Kobani who were displaced to Suruc, Turkey, was highly polarizing, with actors associated with Turkish state opposed to such aid on one hand, and the pro-Kurdish movement desiring aid on the other.[280] In early 2015, Kurdish sources detailed the humanitarian needs and need for reconstruction as a result of the siege. The situation was complicated by the effective trade embargo by Turkey and all routes through Syrian territory being under ISIL control.

The siege destroyed large parts of the town and surrounding villages and damaged infrastructure. Al-Qaeda (ISIL) and its allies cut the water and electricity supplies to the city in January 2014,[281] so the residents established a replacement water service and a power generating station. ISIL destroyed the replacement water line and the fuel tanks that ran the generators that provided electricity. Wells provide some non-potable water but residents used bottled drinking water which was in short supply. Food, grain and flour, were in short supply and the government bakery was captured by ISIL. The fighting destroyed all three hospitals, leaving a single volunteer doctor operating from a damaged house. A lack of medical supplies and electricity for medical equipment complicated medical care.

Conditions in Turkish refugee camps were poor, so residents started back to Kobanî as soon as ISIL was expelled from the city, placing additional pressure on the food, water, and damaged utilities.[282]

Spillover on the Turkish side of the border and protests edit

Main article: 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey
 
Tanks of the Turkish Land Forces on the border to Syria, near Kobanî, November 2014

More than 300,000 Syrian refugees flowed into Turkey to escape the ISIL advance into the Kobanî Canton.[73] However, security forces did not allow People's Protection Units (YPG) militants and other volunteers to go the other way, using teargas and water cannons.[283] On 30 September, errant shells landed on Turkish soil and the Turks shot back into Syrian territory, with Turkish armor being brought to the border to deter further incursions.[284] Five civilians in Turkey were injured when a mortar hit their house. Turkey evacuated two villages as a precautionary measure.[285] While dispersing Kurdish crowds, Turkish police fired teargas directly into a BBC news crew van, breaking through the rear window and starting a small fire.[286]

Protests erupted in various cities in Turkey regarding the lack of support for the Kurds from the Turkish government. Protesters were met with teargas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. Thirty-one people were killed in subsequent rioting.[5] Turkish President Erdoğan said that he was not ready to launch operations against ISIL in Syria unless it was also against the Bashar al-Assad government.[287]

On 1 November, there was an international day of protest for the Kurds of Kobanî. Five thousand people demonstrated in the Turkish town of Suruc, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border. At least 15,000 marched in Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir and 1,000 protested in Istanbul peacefully.[288] On 7 November, there were reports that a 28-year-old Kurdish woman activist had been "shot in the head" by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the border near Kobanî. She was reportedly part of a "peaceful group of demonstrators", who wanted the Turkish government to allow volunteers from Turkey to join the fight against ISIL in Kobanî.[289]

On 28 November, Kurds alleged that an ISIL suicide bomber crossed over in a vehicle from Turkey into Kobanî; however, Turkey denied this. A Kobanî activist, Mustafa Bali, said that ISIL fighters took positions in the grain silos on the Turkish side of the border, and launched attacks toward the border crossing point from there.[290] However, on 29 November, YPG fighters crossed the Turkish border and attacked ISIL positions on Turkish soil, before pulling back to Syria, and the Turkish Army regained control of the border crossing and silos area shortly afterwards.[218]

On 27 January 2015, Turkey fired tear gas against Kurds trying to cross the border to celebrate the liberation of Kobanî.[291]

Analysis edit

Media pointed to Kobanî as more symbolic than strategic, for all sides. Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) militia issued this statement: "The battle for Kobani was not only a fight between the YPG and Daesh [ISIS], it was a battle between humanity and barbarity, a battle between freedom and tyranny, it was a battle between all human values and the enemies of humanity". The fighting strengthened ties between the YPG and the FSA (Free Syrian Army) by establishing a viable source of ground forces for the American-led coalition, and dispelled the notion that the Kurds were Assad supporters.[292] The successful experience in Kobanî has informed U.S. policy in regards to arming Syrian opposition groups other than the YPG, with plans to equip other groups with technicals with radio equipment and global positioning system trackers to call in airstrikes.[293]

The battle became a magnet for ISIL fighters, including the group's best foreign fighters.[294] ISIL had issued a video of hostage John Cantlie in Kobanî talking about their control of the city, but the loss of Kobanî is a reversal of fortunes, and perhaps a strategic withdrawal.[295] There were reports of strife and infighting in the ranks of ISIL in the wake of their defeat at Kobanî, with foreign fighters of different nationalities turning on each other under the strain of the confrontation, with accusations of treachery.[296]

US spokesmen credited the U.S. airdrop of arms to the Kurdish defenders and an agreement by Turkey to let Iraqi Kurdish reinforcements cross the border. "Had we not done those two things, Kobani would've been gone, and you would've seen another massacre. Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said: "I think the air strikes helped a lot. It helped when we had ... a reliable partner on the ground in there who could help us fine-tune those strikes."[297] The bombings were carried out by Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers carrying 500 lb and 2,000 lb bombs, and Lt. Col. Sumangil of the 9th Bomb Squadron stated that airstrikes combined with allied ground forces "basically stopped their [ISIL's] progress"; YPG fighters communicated with liaisons and air controllers at the U.S. Combined Air Operation Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, who then took that information and sent bomb coordinates to the B-1s flying over Kobanî.[44] USAF F-15Es and F-16s were also integral to the campaign.

 
Kurdish civilians watch the fighting in Kobanî from the Turkish border, 30 October 2014

Kobanî's unique geographical position directly on the Turkish border prevented ISIL from fully surrounding the city. Although Turkey heavily restricted[298] the flow of fighters, weapons, and supplies,[299] some of them still made it into Kobanî.[300][301] Over 1,000 defenders of Kobanî were treated in Turkish hospitals,[298] and the border functioned as an escape route of last resort for defenders.

Turkey and its foreign policy is seen by some as a loser in the battle over Kobanî. Turkey's own struggle against Kurdish independence has clouded its stance toward the Rojava Kurds. After the US airdropped supplies that Turkey would not allow into Kobanî, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that he had asked then-US President Barack Obama not to intervene on the side of the Kurds. "I told Mr. Obama, 'Don't drop those bombs [meaning weapons and other supplies]. You will be making a mistake.' Unfortunately, despite our conversation, they dropped whatever was needed with three C-130's and half of it landed in [IS'] hands. So who is supplying [ISIL], then?" Erdogan is also opposed to any arrangements in Syria that would mirror the Iraqi Kurds' de facto state in northern Syria. He repeated this view on 26 January 2015 to reporters, asking, "What is this? Northern Iraq? Now [they want] Northern Syria to be born. It is impossible for us to accept this. … Such entities will cause great problems in the future."[298]

Local highly motivated ground forces combined with airpower are needed to reverse ISIL gains, and the Kurds are nearly unique in their willingness to fight on the ground, something the Iraqi central government, Syrian government, and American allies like Turkey, Jordan, and others in the region have been unwilling or unable to do. The Syrian Kurds are strongly motivated to protect their region and gain greater autonomy, while the Iraqi Kurds are motivated to enlarge the size of their de facto autonomous region.[295]

International reactions edit

 
Demonstration in Vienna, Austria, 10 October 2014
Secular Conference statement in support of the Kobane defenders, London 11–12 October 2014.

  Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) – In September, the PKK threatened to resume its fight against the Turkish government, partly because of what it said was the latter's support for the onslaught against Kobanî.[302] Öcalan reiterated the threat on 1 October 2014.[303]

  Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and President of Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, called on the international community to defend the town, immediately after the first attack. "Barzani urges countries that are fighting IS to help the people and fighters of Kobane in their fight against the terrorist ISIS," said Fuad Hussein, chief of staff of Barzani. Meanwhile, soon the Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that Barzani has asked Turkey to allow Peshmarga to pass through its territory to enter Kobane and prevent the town from falling. On 19 October, the US air planes delivered military and medical assistance from the Kurdistan Region via airdrops. A few days later, 150 Peshmarga troops were mobilized to be sent to Kobane which they entered the town on 30 October carrying heavy weaponry with themselves.

  Kurdistan Region – On 6 October 2014, Kurdistan Region officials blamed the geography of the Kobanî region, as well as the Syrian Democratic Union Party's (PYD) "strategic mistakes"—which included concentrating power in an authoritarian manner—for not being able to send aid or support.[304] The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government announced on 12 October 2014, that it would send weapons, equipment, and humanitarian aid to Kobanî, with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stating "Kobanî is very important to us and we will spare no effort to save it".[305]

  Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – In September 2014, the PUK asked Iran, Iraq, and Turkey to help the Kurdish defenders of Kobanî.[306]

  Free Syrian Army (FSA) – Colonel Malik el-Kurdi, one of the commanders of the FSA, criticized the U.S. administration over airdropping weapons to the armed Kurdish factions: "It is disgusting politics for the U.S. to deliver weapons to the Kurds who have been fighting ISIS for only a month in a small town, while depriving the mainstream opposition for more than three years from any military and strategic aid while resisting the Assad regime that commits any kind of war crime."[307]

  Syria – A senior Syrian minister apologized for not sending airstrikes, saying that Kobanî was so close to the Turkish border, that their jets would violate Turkish territory and be shot down.[308] The Syrian Foreign Ministry also said that any Turkish military activity on its soil would be considered an act of aggression,[309] and reacted furiously to Peshmerga troops being deployed to Kobanî, claiming this was evidence of Turkey's "conspiratorial role" in Syria.[310]

 
Iranian Kurds demonstration in support of Kobanî people, Marivan, 6 October 2014

  Iran – Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham stressed the importance of supporting the Syrian government and nation in their fight against the terrorists in the region and called for supplying humanitarian aid to civilians and refugees. She denounced the international community's indifference toward the fate of the people in Kobani and said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran will soon send humanitarian aid to residents and refugees in this area through the Syrian government."[311] Foreign Ministry also criticized the "passivity of the international community" regarding the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani and said the world should help President Bashar Assad confront "the terrorists." The comments by foreign ministry spokeswoman Afkham came shortly after Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Kobani was on the verge of falling to jihadists fighting for ISIS.[312][313]

President Hassan Rouhani also said that his country is ready to hold talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia on ways to resolve Syria's civil war, providing such negotiations can secure peace and democracy in conflict-torn Syria. "Iran will sit at any table with regional countries and world powers if the outcome will be a safer, stable and democratic future for Syria," Rouhani said in a press conference with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, adding this is part of Iran's commitment to "international, Islamic and humane" norms.[314]

Protests broke out in several Kurdish cities in Western Iran, as well as other cities across country including Tabriz, Mashhad and Tehran itself in front of the Turkish Embassy to express their support for Kobani. Human rights and dissident activists were also in attendance at some of the protests. Iranian Kurdish musicians Shahram Nazeri and Sedigh Tarif have also gone on hunger strike to bring attention to the plight of Kurds in Kobani. One op-ed by conservative Iranian news website Khabar Online has asked Major General Qasem Soleimani to help defend Kobani. As commander of the Quds Force, Soleimani has been heavily involved in advising the Iraqi forces and militias since IS took over large parts of western Iraq this summer. Pictures of him alongside Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish forces in various Iraqi cities have become common as Iran has not hidden its presence there. The op-ed cited reports that Soleimani and Iran were involved in liberating the Iraqi town of Amerli and had supplied arms to Kurdish forces in Iraq to fight IS. It read that "the weight of resistance in the region" was on his shoulders.[315] Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi also praised Kobani's women with saying "Kobani's women are true symbol of brave women..."[316]

 
Global day for Kobanî. Kurdish protests took the streets all over the world on 1 November 2014. Kurdish protesters in Bologna, Italy.
 
Pro-Kurdish graffiti at the University of Bologna

  Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the international community to act to defend the town and prevent it from falling to ISIS. He stressed that "there must be cooperation on the ground", as airstrikes alone would not change the situation.[317] Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that it is "not acceptable to claim that the crisis has happened just because Turkey has not opened its borders." He also defended Turkey's refusal to let Kurds cross into Syria to fight into Kobanî, saying that Turkey does "not let Turkish citizens go into Syria because we don't want them to be a part of the conflict in Syria."[318] Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç mocked the defenders of the town, saying that "They are not able to put up a serious fight there. ... It is easy to kidnap people but they are not able to fight in Ain al-Arab. I could say a lot more but let me leave it at that so that they are not embarrassed."[319] Yasin Aktay, deputy chairman of the ruling AKP party, stated in an interview that "What is going on in Kobanî now is a war between two terrorist organizations."[320][321] President Erdoğan, on 22 October 2014, concerning the U.S. airdrops in Kobanî, told a news conference in Ankara that "What was done here on this subject turned out to be wrong. Why did it turn out wrong? Because some of the weapons they dropped from those C130s were seized by ISIS."[322]

  USA – The United States conducted airstrikes, but the proximity of the Turkish border and Kurdish fighters made for a difficult situation. A Pentagon official believes that the media outcry about the situation in Kobanî is relayed by nearby reporters. The official said that many other towns have fallen to ISIL without TV crews present.[323] US officials indicated to CNN that they were not concerned if Kobanî fell and that the US goals in Syria are "not to save cities and towns, but to go after ISIS' senior leadership, oil refineries and other infrastructure that would curb the terror group's ability to operate—particularly in Iraq.[324] However, in late October 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials had decided Kobanî was "too symbolically important to lose" and stepped up efforts to prevent ISIL from capturing the border town, including covertly coordinating with local Kurdish forces, despite opposition from Turkey.[325]

In popular culture edit

  • The Kurdish film Kobanê depicts the Siege of Kobanî.

See also edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siege of Kobanî.

References edit

  1. ^ "Islamic State is forced from Kobane -". The Long War Journal. 27 January 2015. from the original on 5 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b . ARA News. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  3. ^ Vijay Prashad. "Siege of Kobane". Frontline.
  4. ^ . Reuters. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Kobane: Air strikes help Syria town curb IS". BBC News. 7 October 2014. from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "New U.S. Raids hit Jihadists Outside Syria Kurdish Town". Naharnet. from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
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January 01, 1970
siege, kobanî, part, syrian, civil, rojava, islamist, conflict, american, intervention, syrian, civil, wara, showing, progression, siege, kobanî, from, october, 2014, january, 2015date15, september, 2014, march, 2015, months, week, locationkobanî, arab, kobanî. Siege of KobaniPart of the Syrian Civil War Rojava Islamist conflict and the American led intervention in the Syrian Civil WarA map showing the progression of the siege of Kobani from October 2014 to January 2015Date15 September 2014 20 March 2015 6 months and 1 week LocationKobani Ayn al Arab Kobani Canton SyriaResultRojava Federation victory 9 TerritorialchangesYPG led forces recapture the whole of Kobani city in late January 2015 10 and almost all of the villages previously lost in the Kobani region by mid March 2015 11 70 of Kobani city was destroyed in the battle 12 YPG led forces launch an offensive on Sarrin on 20 March 2015 13 Turning point in coalition Rojava Islamist conflict and eventual military destruction of ISIS held territoryBelligerentsRojava PKK 1 Kurdistan Region from 30 October 2 3 Free Syrian Army 4 CJTF OIR United States Jordan 5 6 United Arab Emirates 6 Saudi Arabia 6 Qatar 7 8 Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantCommanders and leadersSalih Muslim Muhammad 14 Narin Afrin 15 Mahmud Berxwedan 16 Ismet Sheikh Hassan 17 Meryem Kobani 18 Hebun Sinya 19 Faisal Saadoun Abu Layla 20 21 Muhammad Mustafa Ali Abu Adel 22 Hasan al Banawi Abu Juma from 18 November 2014 23 Abdul Qader Sheikh Muhammad Abdo Dushka 24 Saleh Ali Abu Furat 25 Nizar al Khatib Abu Laith until 18 November 2014 26 Abu Ayman al Iraqi Head of Military Shura 27 Abu Ali al Anbari Deputy Syria Abu Omar al Shishani Field commander in Syria 28 29 Abdul Nasser Qardash 30 Deputy emir of the Delegated Committee 31 Abu Ali al Askari ISIL senior commander 32 Abu Mohammed al Masri ISIL senior commander 32 Abu Khattab al Kurdi Commander 32 Othman al Nazih 33 Sultan al Safri al Harbi Hassan Aboud Akhmed ChatayevUnits involvedEuphrates Volcano YPG PAK volunteers 34 YPJ Dawn of Freedom Brigades 35 Northern Sun Battalion Kurdish Front 16 Raqqa Revolutionaries Brigade 36 Retribution Army Jarabulus Company 21 Saraya Jarabulus 37 Peshmerga 2 PUK Peshmerga 38 PKK HPG YJA STAR MLKP 39 TKP ML TIKKO 40 United Freedom Forces 41 People s Liberation Faction 42 until January 2015 43 CJTF OIR United States 9th Bomb Squadron 44 Military of ISIL Wilayat Halab Liwa Dawud 45 Badr Katiba 46 Strength1 500 2 000 YPG amp YPJ Kurdish claims as of 1 November 2014 47 600 PKK 48 300 FSA originally 49 50 50 200 51 FSA reinforcements 9 000 fighters Kurdish claims 52 30 50 MBTs 53 2 UAVs 54 55 Casualties and lossesYPG amp YPJ 562 56 741 57 killed 3 MLKP 39 FSA and Jabhat al Akrad 29 56 72 16 58 killedPeshmerga 1 killed accident 59 60 1 422 56 2 000 61 killed per SOHR 2 000 killed per U S 62 1 068 5 000 killed 63 64 65 18 tanks destroyed 59 66 2 drones shot down per Kurds 55 Hundreds of civilians killed 56 67 Over 400 000 civilians fled to Turkey 68 Additional hundreds of deaths by airstrikes 69 1 000 by US led Coalition airstrikes 70 The siege of Kobani was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 13 September 2014 71 in order to capture the Kobani Canton and its main city of Kobani also known as Kobane or Ayn al Arab in northern Syria in the de facto autonomous region of Rojava By 2 October 2014 the Islamic State succeeded in capturing 350 Kurdish villages and towns in the vicinity of Kobane 72 generating a wave of some 300 000 Kurdish refugees who fled across the border into Turkey s Sanliurfa Province 73 By January 2015 this had risen to 400 000 68 The Kurdish People s Protection Units YPG and some Free Syrian Army FSA factions under the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Regional Government and American and US allied Arab militaries airstrikes began to recapture Kobane 74 On 26 January 2015 the YPG and its allies backed by the continued US led airstrikes began to retake the city driving ISIL into a steady retreat The city of Kobane was fully recaptured on 27 January however most of the remaining villages in the Kobani Canton remained under ISIL control 10 75 The YPG and its allies then made rapid advances in rural Kobani with ISIL withdrawing 25 km from the city of Kobani by 2 February 76 77 By late April 2015 ISIL had lost almost all of the villages it had captured in the Canton but maintained control of a few dozen villages it seized in the northwestern part of the Raqqa Governorate 11 In late June 2015 ISIL launched a new offensive against the city killing at least 233 civilians 78 79 but were quickly driven back The battle for Kobani was considered a turning point in the war against Islamic State 80 The siege was referred by some to be the Kurdish Stalingrad 81 82 Contents 1 Background 2 ISIL advance 2 1 Coalition airstrikes and Kobani besieged 3 Battle for Kobani city 3 1 Fighting in Kobani 3 1 1 First week 3 1 2 Second week 3 1 3 Third week 3 1 4 Fourth week 3 2 FSA and Peshmerga reinforcements arrive 3 3 YPG and FSA regain ground 3 4 YPG recaptures Kobani city 4 Retaking the Kobani Canton 5 Aftermath 5 1 June 2015 Kobani massacre 6 Tomb of Suleyman Shah operation 7 Humanitarian needs and reconstruction 8 Spillover on the Turkish side of the border and protests 9 Analysis 10 International reactions 11 In popular culture 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External linksBackground editDuring the Syrian Civil War the People s Protection Units YPG took over Kobani Arabic Ayn al Arab on 19 July 2012 83 Since then the city has been under Kurdish control while the YPG and Kurdish politicians exercise autonomy for what they call Rojava 84 In August 2013 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL the al Nusra Front Ahrar al Sham the Suqour al Sham Brigade and the al Tawhid Brigade announced that they would besiege Kobani However infighting between the groups erupted in January 2014 and some of them began to align with the YPG under the name of the Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front In March 2014 ISIL captured Sarrin and several other towns and villages from the YPG and the EILF Clashes continued through May 85 On 2 July 2014 the city and the surrounding villages came under attack from ISIL 86 ISIL advance edit nbsp The situation at the beginning of ISIL s offensive against Kobani on 15 September 2014 Controlled by Kurdish forces Controlled by the Syrian opposition Controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant On 15 September 2014 ISIL launched a massive offensive to take the Kobani Canton and the city of Kobani pushing into the villages at the western and eastern borders of the Canton 87 On 17 September 2014 following the capture of a strategic bridge over the Euphrates on 16 September 88 ISIL launched a large offensive using tanks rockets and artillery in the direction of Kobani and within 24 hours captured 21 villages The advance left Kobani encircled by ISIL forces and it also forced the remaining Free Syrian Army fighters to the southwest of the Kobani Canton to retreat to the city of Kobani 89 Two days later ISIL captured 39 more villages 90 bringing their forces within 20 kilometers of Kobani 91 45 000 refugees crossed into Turkey fearing an ISIL takeover of the region 92 while a number of refugees were stopped at the border and ordered to return to Kobani by Turkish authorities 93 The inhabitants of 100 villages were evacuated after coming under continuous shelling and dozens of civilians and YPG fighters were killed as the ISIL advance continued 94 On 20 September ISIL forces came within 15 kilometers of the city of Kobani 67 after capturing three more villages and started bombarding areas within 10 kilometers of the city citation needed Meanwhile more than 300 Kurdish fighters reached Kobani from Turkey as reinforcements 67 Senior Kurdistan Workers Party PKK official Murat Karayilan appealed to Kurdish youth in Turkey to join Kurdish forces in Syria During the day three rockets exploded within Kobani spreading fear among its inhabitants 95 Since the start of the offensive 34 civilians had been killed 67 while the number of refugees had reached 60 000 67 By 21 September ISIL militants captured 64 villages 39 ISIL and 27 Kurdish fighters had been killed in the previous 48 hours 96 Kurdish forces evacuated at least 100 villages on the Syrian side after ISIL militants began their offensive against the Kurdish villages 97 ISIL troops came within 10 kilometers of the city and continued to advance citation needed with the fighting concentrated in the southern and eastern suburbs of Kobani 13 kilometers from the city proper 98 The next day a Kurdish spokesman reported that the ISIL advance east of the city had been halted during the previous night 99 Despite the stalled advance ISIL forces shelled the center of the city and clashes continued in the vicinity of the village of Mojik about 6 km west of Kobani and the village of Alishar 7 km east of Kobani 100 On the same day Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that more than 130 000 Syrian Kurds fled across the border into Turkey escaping an advance by ISIL jihadists 101 On 24 September ISIL forces continued their advance south of the city This brought ISIL within 8 kilometers of the south of Kobani the closest they had been to the city since the offensive started on 15 September 102 ISIL had increased its forces in the Kobani Canton to at least 4 000 by this time citation needed During the advance ISIL forces captured the villages of Robey and Tall Ghazal and the nearby grain silos 103 citation needed In addition an ISIL source claimed that their forces had also captured several villages to the west of Kobani The front line to the west had moved to the cluster of villages called Siftek as more ISIL fighters and tanks arrived for the offensive during the previous day 102 The next morning ISIL fighters were only 2 kilometers away as clashes were continuing By this point ISIL controlled 75 percent of the Kobani canton while Kurdish forces only had control of the city of Kobani the smaller town of Shera and around 15 villages nearby 104 On 26 September ISIL troops captured a hill from which YPG fighters had been attacking them in recent days 10 km 6 miles west of Kobani ISIL also captured a village about 7 km to the east of Kobani 105 Coalition airstrikes and Kobani besieged edit nbsp Map showing the evolution of the siege of Kobani 2014 1 March 18 September 21 September 24 September On 27 September US led coalition planes bombed the area around Kobani for the first time targeting positions in the village of Alishar 4 kilometers from the city which was used as a command and control center by ISIL 106 Despite the coalition airstrikes against frontline ISIL positions they were still able to begin shelling the city of Kobani wounding several people 107 The US initial reluctance to launch airstrikes to help the Kurdish city was believed be caused by its unwillingness to upset Turkey who preferred a Kurdish defeat 108 109 110 By 28 September 1 500 Kurdish fighters coming from Turkey reinforced the Kurds in Kobani 111 The next day ISIL forces approaching from the south and the southeast came within 5 kilometers of the city 112 while Kobani faced sustained bombardment for a second day 113 The next day ISIL troops approaching from the east advanced within 2 3 kilometers of Kobani 114 During the fighting the Kurds reportedly destroyed two ISIL tanks ISIL fighters also captured the village of Siftek to the west and used it to stage attacks on Kobani itself 115 The village of Kazikan was also captured 116 On 1 October Islamic State forces advanced southeast of Kobani and on the western front from where Kurdish forces retreated 117 This resulted in ISIL troops capturing one of the final villages on the outskirts of Kobani and approaching to within one kilometer of the town s entrance At this point Kurdish fighters in Kobani were reinforcing their positions with sandbags to prepare for potential house to house fighting 118 By evening amid a sharp shortage of weapons Kurdish forces withdrew from the city suburbs as ISIL forces continued their advance 119 As ISIL forces entered the suburbs of Kobani some refugees reported torture rape murder and mutilation at the hands of ISIL 120 ISIL militants were reportedly beheading Kurdish fighters including women 121 By 2 October ISIL forces had captured 350 of the 354 villages around Kobani 122 and were positioned only hundreds of meters to the south and southeast of the city 123 Intense firefights had erupted that day resulting in 57 ISIL deaths in the east of the city while an Iraqi ISIL commander and eight other militants were killed in the southern sector 124 The next day ISIL militants took control of Kobani s southern and eastern entrances and exits citation needed They had also taken a strategic hill and a radio tower which overlooked the town citation needed Later a Kurdish fighter reported that ISIL militants had entered the city s southwestern fringes and that fighting was ongoing 125 The US led coalition conducted at least seven air sorties against ISIL targets around Kobani within five days until 2 October when the US didn t carry out any strikes 126 before reportedly carrying out further strikes late on 3 October 127 During the night of 3 4 October an ISIL attempt to breach the city was repelled 128 Coalition airstrikes continued on 4 October targeting ISIL logistics units artillery positions and a personnel carrier 129 By this point the city was essentially empty as nearly all residents except the defenders fled to Turkey citation needed The last foreign journalist also left on 4 October 130 In all some 90 of the region s population had evacuated 131 132 Battle for Kobani city editFighting in Kobani edit First week edit nbsp Coalition airstrike in Kobani on Islamic State position October 2014 On 5 October ISIL managed to capture the southern side of Mistanour Hill outside Kobani city and a Kurdish activist said if ISIL captured the hill it would give them easy access to the city 133 The clashes at Mistanour involved hand to hand fighting 134 For the first time a Kurdish female fighter Deilar Kanj Khamis also known by the nom de guerre Arin Mirkan citation needed blew herself up in a suicide attack on an ISIL position 135 killing 10 ISIL fighters 136 Later after seizing full control of Mistanour Hill 137 ISIL militants entered the southeastern edge of Kobani and street to street fighting began 138 This was the first time the jihadists had entered the city proper itself 139 ISIL managed to break through Kurdish defenses after 30 of their fighters raced across the open fields at the city s eastern edges The ISIL fighters were backed up by snipers heavy machine gun fire and shelling from Mistanour Hill 140 On 6 October the jihadists penetrated about 100 meters into the city 141 and an ISIL flag was raised on top of a four story building in southeastern Kobani shortly after which another was raised on top of the nearby Mistanour Hill that had been captured the previous day 136 142 By this time the number of ISIL militants deployed to the Kobani Canton had increased to 9 000 52 The militants then made an attempt to advance further but while entering Street 48 they were ambushed by People s Protection Units YPG fighters and 20 jihadists were killed 139 Throughout the day fighting raged for control of the Maqtala al Jadida and Qani Arab districts 143 which ended with ISIL forces capturing both neighborhoods as well as the industrial zone of Kobani 144 nbsp YPG fighters during the battle By the morning of 7 October Kurdish forces managed to expel ISIL fighters from most of the eastern part of Kobani that they had captured during the previous night although ISIL fighters were still present in parts of the eastern neighborhoods Meanwhile ISIL forces captured several buildings on the southern side of the city as well as a hospital under construction on the western side 145 The Kurdish success in the eastern part of town came after several U S airstrikes during the night and morning targeted ISIL positions and destroyed a tank three technicals and an ISIL unit and damaged a tank and one technical ISIL anti aircraft artillery was also hit 146 On 8 October Kurdish fighters expelled ISIL forces from most of their previous gains in the city following a new round of U S airstrikes 147 that targeted the rear positions of the ISIL fighters 148 One of the targets hit was a concentration of ISIL fighters near a mosque in the eastern part of the city However despite the airstrikes the jihadists soon launched a new assault in the eastern part of Kobani as ISIL reinforcements arrived 149 allowing them to push 50 70 meters west of the industrial zone capturing the market area 150 By evening ISIL militants had advanced an overall 100 meters towards the city center 149 Meanwhile Kurdish fighters captured Sh ir on the western outskirts of Kobani 151 On 9 October ISIL forces were in control of more than a third of the city including all of the eastern areas a small part of the northeast and an area in the southeast 152 ISIL also captured the Kurdish police headquarters which they had targeted the previous night with a large suicide truck bomb The clashes in that area left a high ranking Kurdish police commander dead 153 The captured police station was then targeted by US led coalition aircraft and destroyed 154 To create a smoke screen from coalition planes ISIL fighters started setting fire to buildings and towers of black smoke burned for hours on the top of Mistanour Hill Later it was reported that Kurdish fighters made advances against ISIL in the eastern part of the town while FSA fighters attacked ISIL forces from the rear inflicting heavy losses 155 According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights SOHR Kurdish forces managed to besiege a group of ISIL fighters in the police headquarters 156 The clashes around the building left 11 ISIL fighters killed and four were captured by the Kurds 157 At this point Kurdish forces were faced with the risk of running out of ammunition 158 nbsp Two U S F A 18F Super Hornets of VFA 22 take off from USS Carl Vinson to support Operation Inherent Resolve October 2014 On 10 October ISIL fighters advanced towards the city center 159 and captured the Kurdish military headquarters which would potentially allow them to advance on the border post and thus rout the Kurdish forces inside Kobani With the capture of the headquarters ISIL was in control of 40 percent of the town 160 For the first time ISIL tanks were seen inside the city 161 Meanwhile Kurdish and Syrian rebel fighters retreated from Sh ir hill on the western outskirts which they had captured two days earlier In order to avoid coalition airstrikes ISIL fighters resorted to transporting new supplies of ammunition to the city by motorcycles citation needed while also flying YPG flags on their vehicles to mislead coalition aircraft ISIL militants wearing YPG uniforms began infiltrating Kurdish lines 162 Later that day an ISIL suicide car bomb exploded near the Grand Mosque west of the security quarter 163 which was followed by clashes in an attempt by ISIL to capture the mosque which would give them a good vantage point for their snipers over a wide area of the city citation needed On 11 October ISIL forces attempted to take the center of Kobani but were repelled by YPG forces and American airstrikes on ISIL positions 164 Even so by this point ISIL was in control of almost half the city after securing the area housing administrative and security buildings and were advancing along the street that divides the eastern and western parts of the town 165 Second week edit nbsp Approximate boundary of the frontline during the fighting in Kobani in late October 2014 On 12 October ISIL reinforcements were dispatched to the battle after the militants suffered heavy losses during the previous day 166 ISIL seized the water wells on the outskirts of Kobani although the lack of diesel due to the siege already rendered them useless for the Kurdish fighters and civilians in the city 167 On 13 October ISIL carried out three suicide bombings against Kurdish positions in Kobani 168 One suicide truck bomber blew himself up in northwest Kobani which opened the way for ISIL forces to advance and capture the New Cultural Center 169 leaving them in control of 50 percent of Kobani 168 A second bomber attempted to reach the border crossing but his bomb exploded prematurely 170 and the ISIL attack on the border crossing was repelled 168 The third bomber attacked Kurdish forces to the west of the security quarter 171 who had managed to advance slightly against ISIL in the area Kurdish fighters also recaptured some ISIL positions in the south of the city 172 According to a Kurdish fighter if ISIL took control of the border crossing it s over He said that despite Kurdish forces repelling the ISIL attack on the crossing point it was impossible for them to hold their ground if the same situation continued 173 A day later Kurdish fighters recaptured Tall Shair hill west of Kobani 174 nbsp YPG improvised fighting vehicle in Kobani From 13 to 15 October the U S conducted 39 airstrikes on ISIL positions in and around Kobani 21 of which occurred on the night of 13 October This allowed Kurdish fighters to make progress against the jihadists in the ISIL held parts of the city 175 The strikes killed 39 ISIL fighters citation needed Kurdish forces said that the airstrikes had become much more effective due to them starting to coordinate with the U S by providing them targets for the strikes 176 The number of strikes had risen to 53 by 17 October 177 On 15 October the deputy head of Kobani s foreign relations committee claimed that the advances Kurdish forces made left them in control of 80 of the city 178 which could possibly lead to them regaining control of the town 179 The next day Kurdish commander Baharin Kandal told the BBC News that Islamic State fighters had retreated from most of the town with two areas of continued resistance remaining 180 On 18 October ISIL launched a fierce new assault from the east towards the border crossing in an attempt to cut off Kurdish fighters in Kobani However the attack was repulsed while more ISIL reinforcements were being sent 181 182 By this point ISIL fighters were still present in the south and east sectors of Kobani and were believed to hold around a third of the town 183 Later two ISIL car bombs exploded one west of the security quarter near the municipal building and the other in the al Hurreyyi Square near the ISIL held Cultural Center Building During the day ISIL bombarded the city with 41 shells 184 Third week edit On 19 October YPG fighters advanced in the Kani Erban area where they took over two ISIL positions while ISIL managed to advance west of the security quarter The US led coalition launched six airstrikes on ISIL positions between 18 19 October 185 Later 3 U S transport aircraft dropped 27 bundles totaling 24 tons of small arms and ammunition as well as 10 tons of medical supplies that were supplied by Kurdistan Region to the Kurdish fighters defending Kobani 186 187 In a statement released by the U S Central Command 188 it was stated that the airdrops were intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL s attempts to overtake Kobani According to reports one of the bundles landed in an ISIL held area and was subsequently bombed Another bundle that landed off target was recovered by Kurdish forces source source source source source source Coalition airstrike against ISIL VBIED near Kobani on 21 October 2014 On 20 October two ISIL car bombs exploded in the northern part of the city 189 A day later ISIL militants claimed on social media to have taken hold of at least one cache of the US airdropped supplies as shown in an uploaded video by ISIL militants the cache included hand grenades ammunition and rocket propelled grenade launchers 190 191 On 23 October ISIL militants once again captured Tell Sh ir Hill after hours of fighting But the hill was targeted by airstrikes in the evening and was recaptured by the Kurds later on during the night 192 The fall of the hill came as a result of a new assault by ISIL militants that had started the night before and had continued into the next day 193 The next day reports from Kobani suggested that ISIL fighters may have used an unidentified chemical weapon in the battle for the city 194 Fourth week edit On 26 October ISIL failed for the fourth time to capture the border gate with Turkey 195 in the northern al Jomrok neighborhood 196 The next day ISIL released another video with British hostage John Cantlie in which he claims that the city of Kobani was mostly under ISIL control with only a few pockets of Kurdish resistance remaining He also claimed that the Battle of Kobani was largely over and that ISIL forces were mostly mopping up in the city The captions in the video displaying the Turkish flags at the border claimed to have been filmed by one of the four ISIL drones However the video has been deemed as pure ISIL propaganda especially since analysts claim that it was filmed about a week earlier Additionally 200 Iraqi Kurdish forces were expected to arrive in Kobani as reinforcements via the Syrian Turkish border 54 On 28 October a fifth attempt by ISIL to capture the border crossing was also repelled while preparations were underway for the Peshmerga to cross the border with Syria from Turkey citation needed FSA and Peshmerga reinforcements arrive edit nbsp YPG sniper during the siege On 29 October 50 Syrian Free Syrian Army FSA fighters crossed the border from Turkey into Kobani citation needed Two days later more than 20 vehicles with Kurdish Peshmerga forces entered the city of Kobani from Sh ir Hill in the western countryside of the city 197 The Iraqi Peshmerga forces numbered around 150 and brought heavy weapons and ammunition These arrivals marked the first time Turkey allowed ground troops from outside Syria to reinforce the Kurds defending Kobani 198 On 1 November the People s Protection Units YPG advanced towards the al Haj Rashad Mosque area 199 A day later in an interview FSA commander Abdul Jabbar Ekada stated that 320 FSA fighters were present in the city and that ISIL militants controlled 60 of Kobani 200 On the following day pro Kurdish news agencies reported that the villages of Arbus Manaza Albalur and Cikur were cleared of ISIL members 201 202 On 5 November the Iraqi Kurdish regional government in Erbil delivered several truckloads of ammunition that secretly crossed into Kobani via Turkey to help the town s defenders Also officials in the town claimed that since the arrival of Peshmerga reinforcements several ISIL advances had been halted resulting in ISIL losses of possibly hundreds 203 YPG and FSA regain ground edit nbsp The situation in Kobani on 16 November 2014 after the YPG briefly captured the strategic Mistanour Hill However the YPG lost control of the hill to ISIL forces within 4 days and retook control of the hill on 19 January 2015 On 8 November the YPG advanced near the al Haj Rashad and al Baladia neighborhoods in Kobani 204 Two days later ISIL was calling dozens of its fighters from other parts of the Aleppo Governorate to participate in the fight for Kobani due to the heavy casualties inflicted upon its forces in the fight for control of the town 205 On 11 November the YPG recaptured an undisclosed number of streets and buildings in the southern part of the town 206 Also a very important military leader for ISIL according to a report by SOHR said that ISIL militants were shocked and demoralized by the fierce resistance put up by YPG fighters as they had expected victory within a few days of storming the town 207 The next day Kurdish forces cut off a road used as a supply route by ISIL The road connects Kobani with Raqqa the ISIL s headquarters The Kurdish forces managed to cut off the supply route from Raqqa after capturing parts of the strategic Mistanour Hill 208 On 16 November YPG units advanced east of al Baladia area and north of the Security Square 209 Two days later Kurdish fighters captured six buildings which according to the director at SOHR Rami Abdulrahman were in a strategic location in the town s north close to Security Square where the main municipal offices are based The Kurds also seized a large quantity of rocket propelled grenade launchers guns and machine gun ammunition 210 ISIL launched two attacks the next day the first was an attempt to recapture the six buildings they had lost the day before and the second was aimed at the Kobani Aleppo road to the town s southwest There were reports of ISIL casualties 211 On 17 November it was also reported that Abu Khattab one of the ISIL s commander in Kobani had been killed in an ambush set by YPG fighters in the village of Tell Bakr 32 Also 28 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes in Kobani including two high ranking ISIL commanders Abu Ali al Askari and Abu Mohammed al Masri 32 On 20 November ISIL forces launched another attack on Mistanour Hill in another failed attempt to regain control of the parts of Kobani that they had lost to Kurdish forces ISIL also launched another assault east of the border gate 212 On 25 November YPG fighters recaptured several buildings on the outskirts of Kobani as well as the cultural center in the town They also advanced in the governmental square and east of Azadi yard 213 nbsp YPG and YPJ fighters in a destroyed part of the town On 28 November YPG took the al Baladia and Azadi yard as well as Souq al Hal and the governmental square after ISIL fighters pulled back from these positions while an ISIL reconnaissance drone was shot down above the town Kurdish fighters captured weapons and ammunition during their advance 214 On 29 November ISIL launched a counterattack by detonating four suicide cars and explosive belts following clashes between the two parties in the town According to the SOHR eight YPG fighters and 17 ISIL fighters were killed in the clashes 215 It also reported that ISIL took back the Azadi yard from the YPG after losing it the previous day 216 According to the German news outlet Der Spiegel ISIL fighters also attacked YPG positions near the border gate from Turkish soil 217 According to the SOHR YPG fighters crossed the Turkish border and attacked ISIL positions on Turkish soil before pulling back to Syria Soon afterwards the Turkish Army regained control of the border crossing and silos area 218 Also YPG fighters carried out a military operation targeting an ISIL vehicle in the village of Tal Ghazal in the southern countryside of Kobani killing 2 militants including a local emir 219 and advanced in the south of the town reaching the Aleppo Kobani road near Tarmek village YPG fighters also regained control over a building in the Azadi Yard 218 In all 50 ISIL militants 12 FSA 11 YPG and three unknown pro Kurdish fighters were killed on 29 November 218 On 1 December the YPG recaptured the Botan Gharbi neighborhood located in the southern part of the town and advanced in the northwestern part of the Mistanour Plain 220 The next day ISIL detonated a car bomb on the outskirts of that neighborhood 221 The YPG expanded their control over the southern part of Kobani on 4 December resulting in the death of 10 ISIL militants and one YPG fighter 222 Between 8 and 13 December YPG seized a number of ISIL positions in the southern part of Kobani as well as some points on Tarmek street citation needed 223 On 20 December YPG fully besieged the cultural center after it took the street around it 224 nbsp YPJ fighters in Kobani s outskirts On 26 December in a sixty sixth round of airstrikes on ISIL in Syria the United States and coalition partners carried out four airstrikes in and around Kobani destroying three ISIL buildings and two ISIL vehicles 225 On 1 January 2015 the YPG recaptured the Rash library and the Botan area south of Kobani thus recapturing the eastern section of the town and ending up controlling 70 of Kobani citation needed On the next day ISIL commander Sheikh Othman Al Nazeh was reportedly killed by an airstrike in Kobani 33 On 5 January 2015 YPG units recaptured the governmental and security district and the al Refia al Sena a al Tharura and al Banat schools YPG also advanced in the Mishtanour neighborhood south of the town According to SOHR at this point the YPG controlled at least 80 of Kobani city At least 14 ISIL militants were killed in the clashes 226 The next day ISIL fighters launched an attack within the vicinity of the Rash bookstore The attack was countered by the YPG 227 Elsewhere a BMP infantry fighting vehicle was destroyed among other vehicles with several weapons captured That day s failed offensive was considered the largest YPG counter attack in Kobani since 28 December 2014 In all 47 ISIL fighters were killed during the assaults on that day 228 On 16 January 2015 an ISIL militant detonated a suicide belt near the government square while the YPG destroyed an APC and seized a Humvee during the fighting Between 15 and 16 January 23 ISIL militants and 8 YPG fighters were killed in the clashes 229 YPG recaptures Kobani city edit nbsp YPG fighters raise their flag over the town On 19 January 2015 YPG fighters fully recaptured Mistanour Hill south of Kobani killing 11 ISIL militants By recapturing the hill the YPG controlled the ISIL supply routes to Aleppo and Raqqa 230 The next day YPG also captured the national hospital and reached the southwestern entrance of the town 231 On 21 January the first Peshmerga fighter was killed in the battle citation needed On 23 January YPG fighters captured two streets to the east and the north of Rash Library as well as Souq al Hal and large parts of the northwestern part of the al Senaa neighborhood 232 bringing 70 of the city under their control 233 The next day YPG also recaptured the Sharia School and Sidan mosque as well as the village of Termak in the southern countryside of Kobani At this moment ISIL presence in Kobani was reduced to two neighborhoods 234 The village of Mamid was recaptured by YPG and FSA fighters on 25 January 2015 ISIL lost 12 militants and a vehicle in the clashes 235 On the same day YPG fighters cut the ISIL supply route to Kobani citation needed By that time ISIL control of Kobani was reduced to 10 ISIL dispatched an additional 140 fighters most of them under the age of 18 236 On 26 January the YPG forced remaining ISIL forces in Kobani to retreat and managed to enter the eastern outlying areas 75 thus fully recapturing the city After the recapture of the city YPG fighters were carrying out the final clean up and besieging areas they believed ISIL leaders might be hiding 10 ISIL resistance persisted in the eastern outskirts of Kobani and parts of the surrounding Kobani region remained under ISIL control 10 Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said I m not prepared to say the battle is won The battle continues but friendly forces have the momentum He also said that Kurdish forces controlled about 70 of the territory in and around Kobani 237 which includes 90 of the city itself 238 The U S confirmed that the city had been cleared of ISIL forces on 27 January 239 and ISIL admitted defeat in Kobani city three days later although they vowed to return 240 At this time ISIL redeployed much of its initial invasion force to other more important fronts 238 Retaking the Kobani Canton editAfter pushing ISIL out of Kobani city on 27 January the YPG and FSA started advancing on ISIL held villages in the region 241 On 27 January YPG fighters recaptured the village of Helnej southeast of Kobani and they also besieged ISIL forces in the southern countryside of the city 242 On the next day YPG and FSA fighters recaptured Kolama village Seran mall and Noroz hall 243 By 6 February YPG forces recaptured over 100 villages in the Kobani Canton that they had lost to ISIL during the previous year 244 The Kurds reported they faced no resistance from ISIL forces due to the fact that ISIL kept withdrawing its fighters whenever the YPG entered another village 245 According to the SOHR most ISIL militants to the west of Kobani were ethnic Turks Also during this phase some ISIL militants surrendered themselves to the Turkish border guards 244 On 8 February while ISIL steadily retreated from the villages to the south and the east of Kobani it was reported that the YPG and FSA faced stiff resistance from ISIL forces in the villages to the west of Kobani as ISIL wanted to retain control over their territory in Aleppo Governorate 246 Experts voiced concerns that ISIL could return with a vengeance given the group s fluidity and history of counterattacking after apparent withdrawals 247 On 9 February ISIL tactically withdrew some of its fighters and military hardware from other villages in the Aleppo province to reinforce the Kobani frontline 248 On 15 February the YPG seized the Baghdak Hill and Jareqli Hill in fighting that killed 35 ISIL and four YPG fighters 249 The next day YPG forces backed by rebels captured Khondan thus regaining control over 2 000 square kilometers of the northeastern Aleppo countryside citation needed On 17 February YPG and rebels seized the Aleppo Hasakah road and seven villages in the Raqqa province during clashes in which 10 ISIL militants and one YPG fighter were killed 250 On 26 February it was reported that the YPG and FSA has retaken some of the last ISIL strongholds in the western Kobani countryside killing over 23 ISIL militants An airstrike targeted the local ISIL command center in al Shuyookh Gharbi killing at least 8 militants including prominent leaders 251 By 1 March YPG forces backed by FSA fighters had recaptured 296 villages ISIL deployed reinforcements to the southern and eastern parts of the Kobani Canton as they wanted to prevent YPG and FSA forces from reaching the de facto ISIL capital of Raqqa 252 Kurdish forces were reportedly planning to build on their advances and capture Tell Abyad thus connecting the Kobani Canton to the Jazira Canton 253 254 Between 1 and 6 March the YPG and FSA supported by airstrikes besieged ISIL militants at the French owned Lafarge Cement Plant and seized 11 villages including Shuyukh Tahtani and Shuyukh Fawqani the last two villages in the western part of Kobani Canton still held by ISIL on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River As a result ISIL retreated to Jarabulus before blowing up the western end of the Jarabulus Bridge in order to prevent Kurdish forces from reaching that city 98 ISIL militants and 11 YPG fighters were killed during the clashes 79 It was also reported that ISIL militants from Tell Abyad were crossing over into Turkey and re emerging in the villages to the west of Tell Abyad to stage attacks on Kurdish held villages near the edge of the eastern frontline 79 On 9 March as a result of the recent Kurdish gains and the Kurdish advance towards the Sarrin grain silos ISIL attempted to launch a counterattack from Sarrin in the southern part of Kobani Canton capturing the villages of Jill Khan Mamdid and Sal ISIL also assaulted several villages north of Sarrin However a Coalition airstrike halted the ISIL advance In addition airstrikes blew up an oil refinery at Al Mumbteh 79 just northwest of Tell Abyad The explosion killed 30 ISIL militants and refinery workers in the area 255 256 13 YPG fighters were killed during the clashes in the Mandek area west of the village of al Jalabiyyi 257 It was also reported that the YPG and allied forces had begun shelling the ISIL held city of Jarabulus across the west bank of the Euphrates River 79 The next day the YPG recaptured Mandek Khwaydan Khan Mamed and Hamdoun The fighting left 15 Kurdish fighters and 12 ISIL fighters dead 258 On 13 March fighting along the frontline killed 7 ISIL militants and 2 FSA fighters 79 On 15 March after a renewed YPG assault supported by airstrikes in Qara Qozak caused the ISIL defense there to collapse and forced them to retreat ISIL militants blew up the Qara Qozak Bridge to prevent YPG forces from crossing over to the west bank of the Euphrates The remaining ISIL militants gathered in a house near the bridge which was promptly destroyed by a Coalition airstrike 259 On the next day it was confirmed that all of the remaining ISIL fighters in Qara Qozak had either been killed or surrendered leaving YPG and FSA forces in full control of the town 45 ISIL militants and at least 4 YPG fighters had been killed at Qara Qozak between 13 and 15 March Three days later the Coalition destroyed the remainder of the Qara Qozak Bridge to prevent ISIL reinforcements from reaching Sarrin 79 259 With this Kurdish forces had recaptured almost all of the villages previously lost to ISIL in their initial September 2014 assault on the Kobani Canton ISIL continued to maintain control of a few dozen villages they captured in the northwestern part of the Raqqa Governorate as well as a few villages in the southern part of the Canton 260 Aftermath edit nbsp The situation after the end of ISIL s siege of the Kobani Canton on 29 April 2015 Most of ISIL s advances since September 2014 had been reversed and YPG led forces were battling for control of Sarrin Controlled by Kurdish forces Controlled by the Syrian opposition Controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant See also Battle of Sarrin March April 2015 Tell Abyad offensive 2015 Battle of Sarrin June July 2015 and Kobani massacre source source source source source source CJTF OIR airstrike on an ISIL mortar position near Kobani 19 April 2015 Over the next few days the YPG seized control of a hill overlooking Sarrin the last remaining ISIL stronghold in the southern part of the Kobani Canton 79 On 20 March the YPG and the allied Burkan al Furat backed by Coalition air support launched an assault on Sarrin 13 which led to hit and run fighting until 28 March 79 261 On 21 March the YPG captured Tel Kharab Zir 79 262 and advanced into Akbesh and Tell Kazan 79 Meanwhile YPG and FSA forces completely besieged the Sarrin grain silos A total of 71 ISIL militants and 1 FSA fighters were killed during the clashes and Coalition strikes On the night between 22 and 23 March ISIL dispatched reinforcements from to Sarrin across the Tishrin Dam which the Coalition did not target due to the risks that destroying the dam would pose to those living downstream 79 On 25 March the YPG reportedly captured the village of Al Jalabiyya in the Raqqa province Meanwhile ISIL forces attacked the village of Qara Qozak by boat but the attack was repelled by the YPG and airstrikes struck the gathered ISIL forces on the other side of the river The clashes led to the deaths of at least 71 ISIL militants and 4 YPG fighters 79 Two days later fighting in the southern villages of Sebti and Khani left three ISIL militants dead 261 During the next 3 weeks the YPG and FSA advance along the southern and eastern borders nearly stalemated as ISIL continued pouring reinforcements into the region The clashes that erupted during this period of time killed at least 195 ISIL militants along with at least 14 YPG fighters and 2 FSA fighters 79 Between 12 and 14 April YPG FSA joint forces captured seven villages and the French owned Lafarge Cement Plant in Raqqa Province and repelled an ISIL counterattack on 12 April At least 30 ISIL militants 263 264 and at least 3 YPG and 2 FSA fighters were killed during this period 79 On 9 April an ISIL counterattack pushed YPG forces back from Sarrin and retook the grain silos breaking past YPG defense lines at the M4 Highway However a YPG counter offensive during mid April with the aid of US led Coalition airstrikes allowed them to slowly advance towards the city again 79 By 17 April the YPG had recaptured 332 of the 350 villages they had lost in the initial ISIL offensive in September 2014 56 By 20 April the YPG had fully recaptured Jill Hamdoun Kayful Sal and the neighboring villages The YPG had also captured Ras al Ayn on 19 April which severed ISIL s supply line to Sarrin from the east allowing the YPG and allied forces to surround Sarrin 265 The clashes over the past few days from 16 19 April were reported to have killed at least 27 ISIL militants and 3 YPG fighters 79 On 20 April YPG forces captured Ras al Ayn allowing the Kurds to sever ISIL s supply line to Sarrin from the east and effectively besieging the city from both the east and the west 265 Also YPG forces began attacking the last ISIL supply route to Sarrin which lay south of the city 266 On 21 April it was reported that YPG forces to the east of Sarrin came within 1 kilometre 0 62 mi the gates of Sarrin and YPG forces were continuing to advance despite reports ISIL had heavily mined the approach to the city 79 On 21 April 2015 the YPG and allied forces had recaptured territory up the M4 Highway including the Sarrin grain silos Septe and the other neighboring villages allowing YPG forces to advance further southward towards Sarrin 11 267 The clashes around the Sarrin grain silos were reported to have killed at least 20 ISIL militants over the past two days 79 This advance allowed the YPG to recapture nearly all of the territory that they had lost during ISIL s September 2014 offensive except for a few dozen villages that ISIL had captured in the northwest Raqqa Province By 21 April 2015 a total of 4 460 5 000 ISIL militants had been reportedly killed in the Kobani Canton since 15 September 2014 according to Kurdish sources 268 65 On 22 April it was reported the Sarrin grain silos were still held by around 50 ISIL militants 79 but a near total siege had been imposed on them 269 Early on 25 April after three days of repeated ISIL attacks on Mistras failed Kurdish forces and their allies launched an all out offensive on Sarrin from several fronts backed by reinforcements to dislodge ISIL 79 270 It was reported ISIL forces stationed near Sarrin had retreated the city and heavy fighting had erupted in the northern western and eastern suburbs 79 YPG and FSA forces also pushed into the northern part of the city 270 271 On 26 April YPG led forces entered the eastern outskirts of the city 272 By 26 April it was reported the YPG led push into Sarrin had slowed as ISIL continued sending more reinforcements 79 Early on 29 April 2015 the last 124 Peshmerga fighters stationed in Kobani returned to Kurdistan Region as the city had been secured Kurdistan Region also stated that no more troops would be sent to Kobani 273 June 2015 Kobani massacre edit Main article Kobani massacre On 25 June 2015 fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant detonated three car bombs in Kobani close to the Turkish border crossing 274 The ISIL fighters were reported to have disguised themselves as Kurdish security forces before entering the town and shooting civilians with assault rifles and RPGs 275 276 Kurdish forces and the Syrian government claimed the vehicles had entered the city from across the border an action denied by Turkey 277 ISIL also committed a massacre in the village of Barkh Butan about 20 kilometres south of Kobani executing at least 26 Syrian Kurds among them women and children 278 In total around 164 people were killed and 200 were injured by 27 June making the attack one of the largest killing of civilians carried out by ISIL in northern Syria 275 Tomb of Suleyman Shah operation editThe Turkish Army mounted a rescue operation across the border to evacuate its soldiers from the Tomb of Suleyman Shah an exclave of Turkey south of Kobani The Turkish convoy reportedly transited through Kurdish held Kobani en route to the tomb One Turkish soldier was killed in what Ankara described as an accident The success of the operation was announced 22 February by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu 279 Humanitarian needs and reconstruction edit nbsp Kurdish refugees from Kobani in a refugee camp on the Turkish side of the Syria Turkey border The humanitarian response to the people from Kobani who were displaced to Suruc Turkey was highly polarizing with actors associated with Turkish state opposed to such aid on one hand and the pro Kurdish movement desiring aid on the other 280 In early 2015 Kurdish sources detailed the humanitarian needs and need for reconstruction as a result of the siege The situation was complicated by the effective trade embargo by Turkey and all routes through Syrian territory being under ISIL control The siege destroyed large parts of the town and surrounding villages and damaged infrastructure Al Qaeda ISIL and its allies cut the water and electricity supplies to the city in January 2014 281 so the residents established a replacement water service and a power generating station ISIL destroyed the replacement water line and the fuel tanks that ran the generators that provided electricity Wells provide some non potable water but residents used bottled drinking water which was in short supply Food grain and flour were in short supply and the government bakery was captured by ISIL The fighting destroyed all three hospitals leaving a single volunteer doctor operating from a damaged house A lack of medical supplies and electricity for medical equipment complicated medical care Conditions in Turkish refugee camps were poor so residents started back to Kobani as soon as ISIL was expelled from the city placing additional pressure on the food water and damaged utilities 282 Spillover on the Turkish side of the border and protests editMain article 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey nbsp Tanks of the Turkish Land Forces on the border to Syria near Kobani November 2014 More than 300 000 Syrian refugees flowed into Turkey to escape the ISIL advance into the Kobani Canton 73 However security forces did not allow People s Protection Units YPG militants and other volunteers to go the other way using teargas and water cannons 283 On 30 September errant shells landed on Turkish soil and the Turks shot back into Syrian territory with Turkish armor being brought to the border to deter further incursions 284 Five civilians in Turkey were injured when a mortar hit their house Turkey evacuated two villages as a precautionary measure 285 While dispersing Kurdish crowds Turkish police fired teargas directly into a BBC news crew van breaking through the rear window and starting a small fire 286 Protests erupted in various cities in Turkey regarding the lack of support for the Kurds from the Turkish government Protesters were met with teargas and water cannons and initially 12 people were killed Thirty one people were killed in subsequent rioting 5 Turkish President Erdogan said that he was not ready to launch operations against ISIL in Syria unless it was also against the Bashar al Assad government 287 On 1 November there was an international day of protest for the Kurds of Kobani Five thousand people demonstrated in the Turkish town of Suruc 10 kilometres six miles from the border At least 15 000 marched in Turkey s largest Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir and 1 000 protested in Istanbul peacefully 288 On 7 November there were reports that a 28 year old Kurdish woman activist had been shot in the head by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the border near Kobani She was reportedly part of a peaceful group of demonstrators who wanted the Turkish government to allow volunteers from Turkey to join the fight against ISIL in Kobani 289 On 28 November Kurds alleged that an ISIL suicide bomber crossed over in a vehicle from Turkey into Kobani however Turkey denied this A Kobani activist Mustafa Bali said that ISIL fighters took positions in the grain silos on the Turkish side of the border and launched attacks toward the border crossing point from there 290 However on 29 November YPG fighters crossed the Turkish border and attacked ISIL positions on Turkish soil before pulling back to Syria and the Turkish Army regained control of the border crossing and silos area shortly afterwards 218 On 27 January 2015 Turkey fired tear gas against Kurds trying to cross the border to celebrate the liberation of Kobani 291 Analysis editMedia pointed to Kobani as more symbolic than strategic for all sides Kurdish People s Defense Units YPG militia issued this statement The battle for Kobani was not only a fight between the YPG and Daesh ISIS it was a battle between humanity and barbarity a battle between freedom and tyranny it was a battle between all human values and the enemies of humanity The fighting strengthened ties between the YPG and the FSA Free Syrian Army by establishing a viable source of ground forces for the American led coalition and dispelled the notion that the Kurds were Assad supporters 292 The successful experience in Kobani has informed U S policy in regards to arming Syrian opposition groups other than the YPG with plans to equip other groups with technicals with radio equipment and global positioning system trackers to call in airstrikes 293 The battle became a magnet for ISIL fighters including the group s best foreign fighters 294 ISIL had issued a video of hostage John Cantlie in Kobani talking about their control of the city but the loss of Kobani is a reversal of fortunes and perhaps a strategic withdrawal 295 There were reports of strife and infighting in the ranks of ISIL in the wake of their defeat at Kobani with foreign fighters of different nationalities turning on each other under the strain of the confrontation with accusations of treachery 296 US spokesmen credited the U S airdrop of arms to the Kurdish defenders and an agreement by Turkey to let Iraqi Kurdish reinforcements cross the border Had we not done those two things Kobani would ve been gone and you would ve seen another massacre Rear Admiral John Kirby the Pentagon press secretary said I think the air strikes helped a lot It helped when we had a reliable partner on the ground in there who could help us fine tune those strikes 297 The bombings were carried out by Rockwell B 1B Lancer strategic bombers carrying 500 lb and 2 000 lb bombs and Lt Col Sumangil of the 9th Bomb Squadron stated that airstrikes combined with allied ground forces basically stopped their ISIL s progress YPG fighters communicated with liaisons and air controllers at the U S Combined Air Operation Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar who then took that information and sent bomb coordinates to the B 1s flying over Kobani 44 USAF F 15Es and F 16s were also integral to the campaign nbsp Kurdish civilians watch the fighting in Kobani from the Turkish border 30 October 2014 Kobani s unique geographical position directly on the Turkish border prevented ISIL from fully surrounding the city Although Turkey heavily restricted 298 the flow of fighters weapons and supplies 299 some of them still made it into Kobani 300 301 Over 1 000 defenders of Kobani were treated in Turkish hospitals 298 and the border functioned as an escape route of last resort for defenders Turkey and its foreign policy is seen by some as a loser in the battle over Kobani Turkey s own struggle against Kurdish independence has clouded its stance toward the Rojava Kurds After the US airdropped supplies that Turkey would not allow into Kobani Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that he had asked then US President Barack Obama not to intervene on the side of the Kurds I told Mr Obama Don t drop those bombs meaning weapons and other supplies You will be making a mistake Unfortunately despite our conversation they dropped whatever was needed with three C 130 s and half of it landed in IS hands So who is supplying ISIL then Erdogan is also opposed to any arrangements in Syria that would mirror the Iraqi Kurds de facto state in northern Syria He repeated this view on 26 January 2015 to reporters asking What is this Northern Iraq Now they want Northern Syria to be born It is impossible for us to accept this Such entities will cause great problems in the future 298 Local highly motivated ground forces combined with airpower are needed to reverse ISIL gains and the Kurds are nearly unique in their willingness to fight on the ground something the Iraqi central government Syrian government and American allies like Turkey Jordan and others in the region have been unwilling or unable to do The Syrian Kurds are strongly motivated to protect their region and gain greater autonomy while the Iraqi Kurds are motivated to enlarge the size of their de facto autonomous region 295 International reactions edit nbsp Demonstration in Vienna Austria 10 October 2014 source source source source source source source source Secular Conference statement in support of the Kobane defenders London 11 12 October 2014 nbsp Kurdistan Workers Party PKK In September the PKK threatened to resume its fight against the Turkish government partly because of what it said was the latter s support for the onslaught against Kobani 302 Ocalan reiterated the threat on 1 October 2014 303 nbsp Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP The leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani called on the international community to defend the town immediately after the first attack Barzani urges countries that are fighting IS to help the people and fighters of Kobane in their fight against the terrorist ISIS said Fuad Hussein chief of staff of Barzani Meanwhile soon the Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that Barzani has asked Turkey to allow Peshmarga to pass through its territory to enter Kobane and prevent the town from falling On 19 October the US air planes delivered military and medical assistance from the Kurdistan Region via airdrops A few days later 150 Peshmarga troops were mobilized to be sent to Kobane which they entered the town on 30 October carrying heavy weaponry with themselves nbsp Kurdistan Region On 6 October 2014 Kurdistan Region officials blamed the geography of the Kobani region as well as the Syrian Democratic Union Party s PYD strategic mistakes which included concentrating power in an authoritarian manner for not being able to send aid or support 304 The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government announced on 12 October 2014 that it would send weapons equipment and humanitarian aid to Kobani with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stating Kobani is very important to us and we will spare no effort to save it 305 nbsp Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK In September 2014 the PUK asked Iran Iraq and Turkey to help the Kurdish defenders of Kobani 306 nbsp Free Syrian Army FSA Colonel Malik el Kurdi one of the commanders of the FSA criticized the U S administration over airdropping weapons to the armed Kurdish factions It is disgusting politics for the U S to deliver weapons to the Kurds who have been fighting ISIS for only a month in a small town while depriving the mainstream opposition for more than three years from any military and strategic aid while resisting the Assad regime that commits any kind of war crime 307 nbsp Syria A senior Syrian minister apologized for not sending airstrikes saying that Kobani was so close to the Turkish border that their jets would violate Turkish territory and be shot down 308 The Syrian Foreign Ministry also said that any Turkish military activity on its soil would be considered an act of aggression 309 and reacted furiously to Peshmerga troops being deployed to Kobani claiming this was evidence of Turkey s conspiratorial role in Syria 310 nbsp Iranian Kurds demonstration in support of Kobani people Marivan 6 October 2014 nbsp Iran Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham stressed the importance of supporting the Syrian government and nation in their fight against the terrorists in the region and called for supplying humanitarian aid to civilians and refugees She denounced the international community s indifference toward the fate of the people in Kobani and said The Islamic Republic of Iran will soon send humanitarian aid to residents and refugees in this area through the Syrian government 311 Foreign Ministry also criticized the passivity of the international community regarding the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani and said the world should help President Bashar Assad confront the terrorists The comments by foreign ministry spokeswoman Afkham came shortly after Turkey s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Kobani was on the verge of falling to jihadists fighting for ISIS 312 313 President Hassan Rouhani also said that his country is ready to hold talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia on ways to resolve Syria s civil war providing such negotiations can secure peace and democracy in conflict torn Syria Iran will sit at any table with regional countries and world powers if the outcome will be a safer stable and democratic future for Syria Rouhani said in a press conference with Austrian President Heinz Fischer adding this is part of Iran s commitment to international Islamic and humane norms 314 Protests broke out in several Kurdish cities in Western Iran as well as other cities across country including Tabriz Mashhad and Tehran itself in front of the Turkish Embassy to express their support for Kobani Human rights and dissident activists were also in attendance at some of the protests Iranian Kurdish musicians Shahram Nazeri and Sedigh Tarif have also gone on hunger strike to bring attention to the plight of Kurds in Kobani One op ed by conservative Iranian news website Khabar Online has asked Major General Qasem Soleimani to help defend Kobani As commander of the Quds Force Soleimani has been heavily involved in advising the Iraqi forces and militias since IS took over large parts of western Iraq this summer Pictures of him alongside Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish forces in various Iraqi cities have become common as Iran has not hidden its presence there The op ed cited reports that Soleimani and Iran were involved in liberating the Iraqi town of Amerli and had supplied arms to Kurdish forces in Iraq to fight IS It read that the weight of resistance in the region was on his shoulders 315 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi also praised Kobani s women with saying Kobani s women are true symbol of brave women 316 nbsp Global day for Kobani Kurdish protests took the streets all over the world on 1 November 2014 Kurdish protesters in Bologna Italy nbsp Pro Kurdish graffiti at the University of Bologna nbsp Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the international community to act to defend the town and prevent it from falling to ISIS He stressed that there must be cooperation on the ground as airstrikes alone would not change the situation 317 Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that it is not acceptable to claim that the crisis has happened just because Turkey has not opened its borders He also defended Turkey s refusal to let Kurds cross into Syria to fight into Kobani saying that Turkey does not let Turkish citizens go into Syria because we don t want them to be a part of the conflict in Syria 318 Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc mocked the defenders of the town saying that They are not able to put up a serious fight there It is easy to kidnap people but they are not able to fight in Ain al Arab I could say a lot more but let me leave it at that so that they are not embarrassed 319 Yasin Aktay deputy chairman of the ruling AKP party stated in an interview that What is going on in Kobani now is a war between two terrorist organizations 320 321 President Erdogan on 22 October 2014 concerning the U S airdrops in Kobani told a news conference in Ankara that What was done here on this subject turned out to be wrong Why did it turn out wrong Because some of the weapons they dropped from those C130s were seized by ISIS 322 nbsp USA The United States conducted airstrikes but the proximity of the Turkish border and Kurdish fighters made for a difficult situation A Pentagon official believes that the media outcry about the situation in Kobani is relayed by nearby reporters The official said that many other towns have fallen to ISIL without TV crews present 323 US officials indicated to CNN that they were not concerned if Kobani fell and that the US goals in Syria are not to save cities and towns but to go after ISIS senior leadership oil refineries and other infrastructure that would curb the terror group s ability to operate particularly in Iraq 324 However in late October 2014 The Wall Street Journal reported that U S officials had decided Kobani was too symbolically important to lose and stepped up efforts to prevent ISIL from capturing the border town including covertly coordinating with local Kurdish forces despite opposition from Turkey 325 In popular culture editThe Kurdish film Kobane depicts the Siege of Kobani See also edit2014 Eastern Syria offensive Siege of Deir ez Zor 2014 2017 Sinjar massacre December 2014 Sinjar offensive November 2015 Sinjar offensive Eastern al Hasakah offensive Western al Hasakah offensive Tell Abyad offensive Battle of Sirte 2016 Battle of al Bab Battle of Mosul 2016 17 Raqqa campaign 2016 2017 Operation Inherent Resolve U S designation for operations against ISIL Operation Euphrates Shield nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siege of Kobani References edit Islamic State is forced from Kobane The Long War Journal 27 January 2015 Archived from the original on 5 February 2016 a b First unit of Peshmerga enters Kobane ARA News 29 October 2014 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Vijay Prashad Siege of Kobane Frontline Kurdish fighters and Free Syrian Army clash with IS at strategic border town Reuters 30 September 2014 Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 a b Kobane Air strikes help Syria town curb IS BBC News 7 October 2014 Archived from the original on 7 October 2014 Retrieved 8 October 2014 a b c New U S Raids hit Jihadists Outside Syria Kurdish Town Naharnet Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 4 October 2014 Grant Rebecca 29 August 2018 The Siege of Kobani Air Force Magazine Airforcemag com Retrieved 19 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the countryside of Ayn al Arab Kobani Syrian Observatory For Human Rights Archived from the original on 16 February 2015 Retrieved 19 February 2015 sohranas 17 February 2015 YPG and supported factions take control over the road of Aleppo al Hasakah and 7 villages in al Raqqa Syrian Observatory For Human Rights Archived from the original on 20 February 2015 Retrieved 19 February 2015 Militant leaders killed during U S led strikes near Kobane ARA News 26 February 2015 Archived from the original on 28 February 2015 Retrieved 4 March 2015 YPG and rebel battalions reach to the outskirts of Jarablos and retake about 300 villages in al Raqqa and Aleppo SOHR 1 March 2015 Archived from the original on 3 March 2015 Retrieved 1 March 2015 Syria Daily Feb 28 Kurds Hit Back at Islamic State With Capture of Key Town in Northeast EA WorldView 28 February 2015 Archived from the original on 29 March 2015 Retrieved 25 March 2015 Syria Kurds under fire mmedia me 11 March 2015 Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Bill Van Auken 10 March 2015 US bombs kill oil workers in Syria World Socialist Web Site Archived from the original on 15 March 2015 Retrieved 25 March 2015 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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