Kurds gain ground in Kobani, Iraq still under pressure from IS
Airstrikes on the town have destroyed an IS fighting position and staging area
Smoke rises from the border town of Kobani
Kurdish fighters have been able to halt the advance of the Islamic State extremist group in the Syrian border town of Kobani, where the U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes for more than two weeks, activists said Sunday.
The coalition, which is targeting the militants in and around Kobani, conducted at least two airstrikes Sunday on the town, according to sources on the ground.
The U.S. Central Command said warplanes from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates conducted four airstrikes in Syria on Saturday and Sunday, including three in Kobani that destroyed an Islamic State fighting position and staging area.
In Iraq, Islamic State continue to put pressure on government forces. A roadside bomb killed the police chief in Anbar province, between Baghdad and the Syrian border, and Pentagon officials have voiced concern about the government's vulnerability to a renewed jihadist offensive.
Farther north, around Iraq's key oil refinery town of Baiji, the army and Sunni Arab tribal allies came under fresh IS attack, prompting a first resupply operation by coalition aircraft.
