US Commander: Losing Kobani to IS 'Highly Possible'
by Alex Villarreal October 17, 2014
The top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and Kurdish forces have made 'encouraging' progress against Islamic State militants trying to seize Kobani, but it is still 'highly possible' the Syrian border city may fall into the group's hands.
General Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon Friday that the Islamic State group appears to have made the decision to make seizing Kobani its main effort.
Even as it assists the fight in Kobani, General Austin said the U.S. military's main focus is Iraq and enabling the efforts of Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State.
In an interview with VOA's Kurdish Service, Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Babakir Zebari said he believes Iraqi forces can 'do the job' of defeating IS fighters 'if they have strong air support and training.'
Austin said the overall campaign against the group in both Iraq and Syria is 'having the desired effects' toward degrading its capabilities, but 'will take some time.'
U.S. air strikes against the Islamic State increased in Kobani this week, as the fight to defend the northern city entered its second month.
A VOA correspondent Scott Bobb on the Turkish side of the border says Kobani's skyline quieted down as Friday prayers began, following reported IS attacks on Kurdish positions and another round of U.S.-led airstrikes overnight.
Elsewhere in Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Iraqi pilots are training Islamic State fighters to fly three fighter jets they captured.
The rights group says the pilots are former Iraqi army officers who served under Saddam Hussein. Witnesses have reported seeing the planes flying over the captured al-Jarrah military airport east of the city of Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 660 people have been killed since the IS offensive on Kobani began. The rights group noted the overall death toll could be twice that estimate because of what it called 'extreme secrecy' about casualties from both sides.
US acknowledges talks
U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State increased in Kobani this week as the United States acknowledged it held the first direct talks with a Syrian Kurdish political party linked to Kurdish guerrillas that U.S. and Turkey call terrorists.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said a top U.S. official met with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Paris on Saturday, but the meeting does not represent coordination against the Islamic State.
The party is tied to the PKK, Kurdish separatists who have carried out numerous attacks inside Turkey while fighting for an independent Kurdistan in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Psaki said the U.S. is fully aware of the connection between the Kurds in Syria and the PKK, which Washington still regards as a terrorist group.
But Polat Can, spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), told VOA's Kurdish service earlier this week that the Kurdish militia had a 'direct relationship' with the U.S. coalition and is providing coordinates for airstrikes in Kobani, known also as Ayn al-Arab.
A senior Defense Department official also confirmed to VOA 'there has been some level of coordination with Kurdish forces in Syria' but declined to elaborate.
The U.S. Defense Department said airstrikes have killed 'several hundred' Islamic State fighters in Kobani.
View from refugee camp
Bobb, visiting a new camp for Kurdish refugees on Turkey's side of the border, said the people are living in tarpaulin tents. There are fears of 'children falling sick' as winter approaches, he said. Winds and the high altitude already contribute to chilly temperatures.
But the refugees have received allocations of blankets and clothing, along with three meals a day, they told Bobb.
'People acknowledge they're receiving a great deal of assistance' from the Turkish government, independent donors and political parties, particularlyl the Kurdish party, Bobb said.
VOA's Kurdish service and correspondent Scott Bobb contributed to this report.
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