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                   Syria Monitor: Kobani Death Toll Tops 600

   by VOA News

   A monitoring group says more than 660 people have died in the
   month-long battle for the town of Kobani along Syria's northern border.

   The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, using sources
   inside Syria, reported Thursday that roughly 380 Islamic State
   militants have been killed fighting Kurdish forces in the area also
   known as Ayn al-Arab.

   Among the dead are more than 260 Kurdish fighters and 17 civilians. The
   IS offensive that began in September drove tens of thousands of mostly
   Syrian Kurds to flee across the border into Turkey.

   The United States and several partner countries intensified bombings
   against IS fighters in Kobani this week, supporting Kurdish militias on
   the ground.

   U.S. analysts believe the strikes have killed several hundred IS
   fighters.

   Military officials also revealed the name of the campaign against the
   Islamic State on Wednesday, dubbing the ongoing airstrikes in Syria and
   Iraq "Inherent Resolve."

   Earlier Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Kurdish
   fighters had retaken two Islamic State positions and pushed back
   militants from several streets. However, it also said the Islamic State
   retained control of about half of Kobani. Polat Can, a spokesman of the
   Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), told VOA local forces are
   "cleaning neighborhoods" of IS militants.

   The U.S. Central Command said it launched 18 airstrikes in and near the
   town Tuesday into Wednesday, destroying 16 buildings.

   In neighboring Iraq, government security forces were battling IS
   fighters for control of Amriyat al-Fallujah, a town 35 kilometers west
   of Baghdad.

   The local police chief said the IS militants had approached the town
   from three directions, leaving it "almost besieged."

   As the fight against the Islamic State continues on two fronts,
   countries from Southeast Asia to the Caribbean are still facing the
   challenge of citizens supporting the ultra-radical group.

   Malaysian authorities announced Wednesday that the three people who
   allegedly recruited for the IS in the country were among 14 suspected
   militants arrested earlier this week.

   The same day, the National Security Minister for the island nation of
   Trinidad and Tobago said foreign intelligence agencies had discovered
   "several" citizens of the Caribbean country had traveled to the Middle
   East as IS fighters and sympathizers.

   And in Morocco, a man with his two young French daughters in tow was
   arrested in Casablanca Wednesday as he sought to join the group.

   U.S. intelligence officials estimate 15,000 militants from 80 countries
   are supporting IS in Iraq and Syria.

   VOA's Kurdish service contributed to this report.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-monitor-kobani-death-toll/2485551.html