MESOP FACING KOBANE TODAY : TODAY’S SITUATION

Islamic State shells Syrian border crossing in order to besiege Kobani completely   

October 10, 2014 – ap – MURSITPINAR, Turkey’s Kurdish region,— A local Kurdish official in Syrian Kurdistan and activists say the Islamic State group is shelling a Syrian border crossing with Turkey to try and capture it and cut off the embattled Kurdish town of Kobani.

The official, Idriss Nassan, says Islamic State fighters aim to seize the crossing in order to close the noose around the town’s Kurdish defenders and prevent anyone from entering or leaving Kobani. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the militants on Friday shelled several areas in Kobani, including the border crossing, which is the town’s only gateway to Turkey. Islamic State group this week pushed into Kobani for the first time since launching its offensive in the area in mid-September. Activists say the fighting over Kobani has killed more than 500 people.