In Kobane, 23 militants killed in two coordinated attacks

By Shwan Ali Manmi

KOBANE BORDER – Fifteen Islamic State (ISIS) fighters were killed in a coordinated Kurdish shock attack in Kobane early Monday, a day after eight other militants were killed in clashes, Kurdish forces said.

Monday’s attack involved fresh Peshmerga forces sent in by the Kurdistan Region and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backed by sustained coalition airpower that targeted militant positions, sources told Rudaw.

“The attack was a coordinated YPG-Peshmerga operation backed by coalition airstrikes which pushed back the Islamist militants in some districts of the town,” Major Sherwan Spindarayi told Rudaw.

He added that a high-ranking militant, an ISIS emir known as Jundulla Chichani, was among the dead fighters.

Spindarayi said that four serial airstrikes targeted militant locations in the city, as the ground troops launched surprise attacks.

Fierce clashes between the ISIS militants and Kurdish forces on Sunday evening resulted in the deaths of eight militants and capture of unspecified numbers of arms and ammunition, Spindarayi said.