Airstrikes targeting ISIS struck near the crucial Syrian city of Kobani overnight, and warplanes attributed to the U.S.-led coalition fighting militants in the area were reported to have struck targets in support of Kurdish forces locked in street fighting with ISIS militants.
Five airstrikes near Kobani Monday night targeted groups of ISIS fighters, according to U.S. Central Command.
There were another four strikes elsewhere in Syria and four in Iraq.
"Finally, they are hitting the right places," a local fighter against ISIS told CNN after the airstrikes near Kobani, which is close to the Turkish border.
If the reports of targets struck Tuesday are confirmed, it could indicate an escalation in American-led efforts to help the Kurds resist an onslaught by the Sunni militants whose forces control portions of Syria and Iraq, according to The New York Times.
Central Command listed the confirmed overnight strikes in a news release:
- 1 south of Kobani destroyed three ISIS armed vehicles and damaged another
- 1 southeast of Kobani destroyed an ISIS armed vehicle carrying anti-aircraft artillery
- 2 southwest of Kobani damaged an ISIS tank
- 1 south of Kobani destroyed an ISIS unit
Information from CNN and The New York Times was used in this report.
