Smoke rises in Kobani following US led airstrikes

Large clouds of smoke dotted the skyline and loud explosions could be heard in the besieged Syrian town of Kobani on Thursday (November 13), as a U.S.-led coalition launched more air strikes against Islamic State targets.         

Loud explosions were heard on the Turkish border with Syria as clouds of smoke filled the sky over the embattled town following a morning of relative calm. 

US-led forces conducted 16 air strikes in Syria, most of them around the strategic town near the Turkish border, and seven in the oil-producing northern region of Iraq since Monday (November 10), the U.S. Central Command said.

Ten air strikes conducted by the United States and its allies near Kobani hit eight small Islamic State units, damaged three fighting positions and destroyed a logistics facility, Centcom said Wednesday (November 12) in a statement. 

Kobani has been encircled by the Sunni Muslim insurgents for more than 50 days. Weeks of US-led air strikes have failed to break their stranglehold, and Kurds are hoping the arrival of the peshmerga, welcomed by Washington, will turn the tide. 

The battle for Kobani - known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab - has become a test of the US-led coalition's ability to stop Islamic State's advance.