The Syrian Kurds claim the United States-led airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) are not working. The terrorist group is still advancing on Kobani, a key city on the Syria/Turkey border. The black flag of the group was raised in the eastern part of the city, but the Kurds said the town did not fall.
“Air strikes alone are really not enough to defeat Isis in Kobani,” said Idris Nassan, a senior spokesman for the Kurdish fighters. “They are besieging the city on three sides, and fighter jets simply cannot hit each and every Isis fighter on the ground. Each time a jet approaches, they leave their open positions, they scatter and hide. What we really need is ground support. We need heavy weapons and ammunition in order to fend them off and defeat them.”
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told CNN the airstrikes are not going to work against the Islamic State. Former British Chief of the Defense Staff General Sir David Richards agreed with Graham.
“Air power alone will not win a campaign like this,” he said. “It isn’t actually a counter-terrorist operation. This is a conventional enemy in that it has armour, tanks, artillery… it is quite wealthy, it holds ground, and it is going to fight. So therefore you have to view it as a conventional military campaign.”
Islamic State is desperate to claim Kobani for its caliphate. If the terrorists capture the town, it will control a large amount of area in northern Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad allowed the Kurd’s to “have virtual autonomy” in the area. It is also one of the strongest Kurd cities in the Middle East with “the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).” The people in Kobani represent everything the radical Islamic group detests, since it is “a thriving popular experiment in secular pluralism, gender equality, and democratic autonomy.”
On Monday morning, the jihadists raised the flag on a building in the eastern outskirts of Kobani. Residents of the town claim the city is not under Islamic State control.
“ISIL have only planted a flag on one building,” said journalist Ismail Eskin. “That is not inside the city, it’s on the eastern side. They are not inside the city. Intense clashes are continuing. The bodies of 25 (Islamic State) fighters are there.”
Plus, if the city falls, it could make it easier for extremists to enter Syria through Turkey. There are many alleged ties between Turkey and Islamic State. Turkey declared support for groups against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and CNN featured Turkey’s secret jihadi route to Syria. Many Westerners have entered Syria through Turkey in an effort to join the Islamic State. One jihadist claimed that without Turkey’s support and money, the Islamic State would not be where it is today.