At least 100 Islamic State fighters killed in Kobani

An estimated 576 jihadist fighters killed in northern Syrian battleground town since fighting began in September

By AFP 1 November 2014, 1:36 pm

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Kurdish peshmerga fighters gesture and wave a Kurdish flag from a military vehicle armed with a heavy infantry weapon as they ride towards the Syrian town of Kobani, also known as Ain al-Arab, from the border town of Suruc, in the Turkish southeastern Sanliurfa province, on October 31, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/STRINGER)

BEIRUT — At least 100 jihadists from the Islamic State group have been killed in three days of fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobani, a monitor said on Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths brought the total number of IS fighters killed in the ground battle for Kobani to 576 since clashes there began on September 16.

“Over the last three days, at least 100 members of the Islamic State and its religious police have been killed… in Kobani and its surroundings,” the Britain-based group said.

It said the IS members had come from Aleppo and Raqqa provinces to take part in the battle for the town, which is being defended by members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG.

The group also said 15 YPG fighters had been killed in clashes in Kobani on Friday, and another 11 jihadists died in air strikes by a US-led coalition in both Kobani and Raqqa province.

Overall, 958 people have been killed in the battle for Kobani — 576 Is jihadists, 361 YPG fighters and allied forces and 21 civilians, according to the Observatory.

More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict since it began in March 2011, says the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on inside Syria for its reports.