MESOP : U.S. LED FORCES & PYD(PKK) CLOSE COMRADES IN ARMS

The U.S.-led coalition and Kurdish forces have continued a battle over the Syrian town of Kobani, near the border with Turkey, though have not appeared yet to stave off an advance by Islamic State militants. On Tuesday, Kurdish forces launched offensives on three fronts against Islamic State positions in northern Iraq. After reports that a U.S.-led strike in Syria hit mills and grain storage areas in northern Syria killing civilian workers, the U.S. military said an airstrike targeted Islamic State vehicles close to a grain storage facility near the town of Manbij, though it had no evidence yet of civilian deaths. U.S. Air Force Major General Jeffrey Harrigian said that U.S. airstrikes are forcing Islamic State militants to change tactics, abandoning large formations and “dispersing themselves.” A commander from the Free Syrian Army has said U.S.-led strikes in Syria could pose a problem for “moderate” opposition forces in their conflict against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel fighters have said that suspicion of U.S. motives and casualties caused by U.S.-led strikes are endangering public support for the Western-backed opposition.