ISTANBUL, Turkey – Kurdish fighters battled Islamic State militants on Monday as the jihadists stepped up their three-week siege of the border town of Kobane and tensions spilled across the frontier after a stray shell wounded five people on Turkish soil. A Rudaw reporter in the area said fighting had intensified to the east of the predominantly Kurdish town, which sits hard on Turkey's border, with the constant sound of heavy gunfire and explosions reverberating through the air. Black smoke could also be seen rising above the town from tens of kilometers away. Insurgents from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) have encircled Kobane in a siege that is nearing its fourth week, as they try and consolidate their control along the Turkish border. The jihadists have already captured large swaths of territory across Syria and neighboring Iraq. Their advance on Kobane has sent more than 180,000 refugees, mainly Syrian Kurds, fleeing to Turkey. Tensions on the Turkish side have been rising as the fighting has neared its border. On Sunday, the violence spilled over onto Turkish soil when a shell fired from Syria hit a house just across the frontier from Kobane, wounding at least five people, Turkish media reported. Video footage showed a large hole in the side of the house where the shell struck. Media reported that three neighborhoods near the border were being evacuated for security reasons and Turkish security forces have also fired tear gas and water cannon at residents and journalists to try and keep them away from the border. Shells and mortars have been landing up and down Turkey's 900 km border with Syria since rebel fighters took up arms in 2011 in an attempt to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The spillover of violence has frustrated Turks along the border and underscores the regional dimension of Syria's civil war. The Turkish military has beefed up its presence along the border with troops and tanks, and on Sunday it said six of its F-16 fighter planes had been patrolling the frontier. Turkey has also been responding in kind when stray fire has landed on its soil. But so far Ankara has resisted joining the fight against ISIS. It views the Kurdish militias in northern Syria, the People's Protection Units (YPG), with distrust, seeing them as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey, which has been fighting the Turkish state for 30 years in search of more autonomy. Turkey is wary of intervening militarily, particularly in Kurdish areas, fearing it will strengthen Assad's position and that of the YPG and will embolden Turkey's Kurds. The Kurds have accused Ankara of supporting the Islamist fighters, sending them weapons and allowing them easy movement across the border, charges Turkey denies. The United States and other allies have been conducting air strikes on Islamic State targets over the past few weeks in Syria and Iraq, and Washington wants Turkey to take a more active role in the fight. Turkey's parliament voted to renew a mandate last week allowing its military to conduct operations in Syria and Iraq and for its bases and air space to be used by allies against Islamic State, a move welcomed by Washington. But Turkey has shown no sign so far it will use the mandate for any offensive operation in Syria and it is still unclear whether it will allow its bases to be used by allies for offensive operations. The recent advance by Islamic State has laid bare some of the tensions between Washington and Ankara. Turkey wants the United States to impose a no-fly zone in northern Syria and for it to bomb Syrian government targets as well as the jihadists, while Washington no longer sees removing Assad as a priority. The Kurds are wary of Turkey's call for a no-fly zone, saying it will only weaken their position.
