Situation in Kobani “tenuous” as Kurdish forces continue fight against ISIS: Pentagon

Germany announced last month to arm and train the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, who are battling IS militants in Iraq.

“We have seen ISIL Fighters conducting attacks in and around Kobani that have killed or injured innocent civilians,” he said. Because of ISIL’s focus on this particular town in Syria, has raised the stakes of this conflict, he said.

READ: US airdrops ammunition, weapons for Kurds in Syria’s Kobani to fight IS militants

The Press Secretary added that by shifting resources to that particular conflict, it created an additional set of targets for US military air strikes to hit.

The US is closely watching the situation in Kobani, he said. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it conducted four airstrikes, while three others were conducted by its partner nation forces. “In Syria, four airstrikes near Kobani destroyed ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL building, and a large ISIL unit. In Iraq, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL fighting position south of the Bayji oil refinery,” it said.

“Another airstrike southeast of Mosul Dam destroyed one ISIL fighting position and an airstrike north of Fallujah suppressed an ISIL attack. All aircraft exited the strike areas safely. Airstrike assessments are based on initial reports,” it said. At the Pentagon news conference, Kirby gave credit to the Kurdish forces, which have fought ISIL to a standstill.

“The constant pressure from the air, the pressure from the ground by these Kurdish forces has done a lot to keep ISIL at bay from taking the whole town,” he said.