Just look at battlefield, defensive and offensive tactic in Kobani.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Kurdish militias regained full control of the northern Syrian town of Kobani on Monday, driving Islamic State militants out with the help of American-led airstrikes, Kurdish activists on the scene said.
The bitter three-month battle for the border town took on outsize symbolic significance as it unfolded within sight of the Turkish border. It became the most visible arena in the American-led coalition’s fight against the Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq, and the militant group’s retreat dented the aura of invincibility it has sought to cultivate.
But even as the Kurds celebrated, some activists said clearing the town was no great victory, given that it took more than 700 airstrikes to do it — nearly three-quarters of all the coalition’s strikes in Syria so far — and that Kobani was a relatively minor border city with a prewar population of 45,000.
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Improved coordination between Kurdish ground forces and the American-led air campaign made it possible to eliminate the Islamic State’s foothold in the city, the activists said. But the battle illustrated something else as well, they said: the extremists’ ability and willingness to hold on for months in the face of punishing aerial attacks, even in territory with limited military importance.
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BEIRUT, Lebanon — Kurdish militias regained full control of the northern Syrian town of Kobani on Monday, driving Islamic State militants out with the help of American-led airstrikes, Kurdish activists on the scene said.
The bitter three-month battle for the border town took on outsize symbolic significance as it unfolded within sight of the Turkish border. It became the most visible arena in the American-led coalition’s fight against the Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq, and the militant group’s retreat dented the aura of invincibility it has sought to cultivate.
But even as the Kurds celebrated, some activists said clearing the town was no great victory, given that it took more than 700 airstrikes to do it — nearly three-quarters of all the coalition’s strikes in Syria so far — and that Kobani was a relatively minor border city with a prewar population of 45,000.
Continue reading the main story
RELATED COVERAGE
Syrian Airstrike Hits Damascus Suburb, Killing DozensJAN. 23, 2015
President Bashar al-Assad with troops in Damascus. In one Russian idea, his government and the opposition would share power.U.S. Signals Shift on How to End Syrian Civil WarJAN. 19, 2015
Improved coordination between Kurdish ground forces and the American-led air campaign made it possible to eliminate the Islamic State’s foothold in the city, the activists said. But the battle illustrated something else as well, they said: the extremists’ ability and willingness to hold on for months in the face of punishing aerial attacks, even in territory with limited military importance.
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