Kobani Kurdish forces repel ISIL attack

Kurdish forces in the Syrian city of Kobani have repelled an attack by the Takfiri ISIL militants, officials say.

According to Kurdish officials and the London-based so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the ISIL terrorists attempted to seize Kobani’s border post with neighboring Turkey late Saturday.

The militants were, however, pushed back by the Kurdish fighters in the south and west, guarding the only official gateway from Kobani to Turkey.

Idris Nassan, a local Kurdish official, said that the ISIL militants had shelled Kobani’s border gate late Saturday.

“Of course they will try again tonight. Last night, they brought new reinforcements, new supplies, and they are pushing hard,” Nassan added.

Last week, Iraq’s Kurdistan voted in favor of sending Peshmerga forces to Kobani to help the Kurdish fighters in their battle against the ISIL.

However, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesman Safeen Dizayee said on Sunday that they will only provide the Kurdish forces in Kobani with artillery support and not with ground soldiers.

Kobani and its surroundings have been under attack since mid-September, with the ISIL militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.

As a result of the ISIL’s advances in the region, tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds have been forced to flee into Turkey, which is a stone’s throw from Kobani.

Reports say that at least 815 people have been killed during the clashes between Kurdish fighters and the ISIL militants in Kobani. More than half of those killed are reportedly ISIL militants.