A Turkish soldier watches as Kurdish Syrian refugees walk on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Sept. 24, 2014.Murad Sezer—Reuters
U.S. military aircraft carried out fresh raids against Sunni extremist fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) in northern Syria on Tuesday night.
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday night that U.S. military forces had continued to attack ISIS targets in Syria with two airstrikes southwest of Dayr Az Zawr. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed Wednesday that there had been more strikes overnight. “Definitely a second day and a third and maybe more,” Kerry said, in an interview with CNN. “We’re going to do what’s necessary to get the job done.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that planes scored hits against ISIS militants near Kobani, which is also known as Ayn al-Arab. The Observatory’s Rami Abdulrahman said that local activists reported that the planes had approached from the Turkish side of the border. Turkish officials have dismissed that claim, according to the BBC, and denied that Turkish aircraft or the U.S. airbase at Incirlik were used.
Since Friday, close to 140,000 ethnic Kurds from Syria have flooded across the border into southern Turkey, as ISIS forces took surrounding villages and began to tighten their grip on Kobani. Kurdish militia fighters were still in control of the city as of Wednesday morning.
Earlier this week, Melissa Fleming, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva that the agency was preparing for the entire 400,000 strong-population of communities in and around Kobani to cross the border.
Photos Show ‘Unprecedented’ Shift of Refugees Into Turkey
A man carries an elderly Syrian Kurd after they crossed the border between Syria and Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 20, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds cross the border from Syria into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 20, 2014.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Syrian Kurd pours water on a child after they crossed the border between Syria and Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 20, 2014.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds carry belongings as they cross the border between Syria and Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 20, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds wait near the Syrian border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 20, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Turkish soldier asks people to stay away from the Syrian border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 21, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Syrian Kurdish refugee holds a baby as she waits after crossing the border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 21, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds wait next to their animals as they stand behind a fence on the Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 21, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds try to grab water thrown from Turkey near the border with Syria as they wait to take care of their animals at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 21, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Syrian Kurdish refugee waits after crossing the border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 21, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Kurdish protestor uses a sling shot against Turkish soldiers near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 22, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesKurdish protestors clash with Turkish soldiers near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 22, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA man walks past a burning car as Kurdish protestors clashed with Turkish soldiers near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 22, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Kurdish protestor clashes with Turkish soldiers (unseen) near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 22, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Kurdish man bleeds after being injured while walking in the center of Suruc during clashes between protestors and Turkish riot policemen after authorities temporarily closed the border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on Sept. 22, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Syrian Kurdish woman crosses the border between Syria and Turkey at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Sept. 23, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds carry their belongings as they cross the border between Syria and Turkey at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Sept. 23, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesA Turkish police officer gestures as they screen Syrian Kurds crossing the border between Syria and Turkey at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Sept. 23, 2014.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds cross the border between Syria and Turkey at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Sept. 23, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty ImagesSyrian Kurds sit in a truck after crossing the Syrian-Turkish border at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on Sept. 23, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
