ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—One year after the Islamic State launched a massive suicide attack on the Kurdish town of Kobane in Rojava, northern Syria, killing more than 250, the town and its environs are still under attack from ISIS, as well as the Turkish army.
The Kurdish forces, People’s Protection Units (YPG), released a statement on Saturday saying that villages in the Kobane area were under attack on multiple fronts on Friday.
“[D]eploying heavy weaponry, Turkish military forces struck [YPG] positions near the village of Koreli in western Kobane. Simultaneously around the village of Boban, Turkish forces indiscriminately fired at civilian population in western countryside of Kobane.”
At the same time, ISIS militants attacked Shiukh in southwestern Kobane. “The group who tried to infiltrate into secured parts of Euphrates’ eastern banks, were confronted and forced by [YPG] to withdraw,” the YPG statement reads.
They did not give any casualty figures.
The attacks on Kobane come as the town commemorates one year since ISIS launched a massive suicide attack and a days-long assault on the town. On June 25, 2015, an ISIS car bomb killed at least 25. Following the bombing, ISIS militants dressed in uniforms of the Kurdish forces entered the town, firing at everything that moved. More than 100 civilians were slain in their homes – executed or killed by rockets. Bodies on the streets included women and children.
The final death toll was over 220 civilians and 35 YPG fighters killed.
The Islamic State was routed from the town of Kobane in January 2015 after a months-long conflict. It was the first major victory against the terrorist group and saw historic unity between Kurds as forces from all parts of the Kurdistan region fought for the town, side by side.
The June 2015 ISIS assault on the town was in retaliation for that defeat and to instill fear with the message that the caliphate remains.
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