Warplanes struck Isis positions near Syrian border town

Warplanes believed to belong to the US-led coalition struck positions held by Islamic States (Isis) militants near a Syrian border town, where beleaguered Kurdish forces have been struggling to defend.

The air strikes began late on Monday and came as Kurdish forces pushed Isis militants out of the eastern part of Kobani, where the jihadists had raised their black flag over buildings hours earlier.

The US-led coalition has launched several air strikes over the past two weeks near Kobani in a bid to help Kurdish forces defend the town, but the sorties appear to have done little to slow Isis, which captured several nearby villages in a rapid advance that began in mid-September.

Hours after two Isis flags were raised on the outskirts of Kobani on Monday, the militants punctured the Kurdish front lines and advanced into the town itself, said the local co-ordination committees activist collective.

“They’re fighting inside the city. Hundreds of civilians have left,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director, Rami Abdurrahman. “Islamic State controls three neighbourhoods on the eastern side of Kobani. They are trying to enter the town from the south-west as well.”