Jihadists in Fierce New Attack on Syria Kurd Town

The jihadist Islamic State group on Friday launched a fierce new attack against Syrian Kurdish fighters in Kobane, four months into a battle for the flashpoint town on Turkey's border, a monitoring group said.

"The IS launched a very fierce attack this morning from the western side of Kobane. In the fighting that ensued, 23 jihadists were killed, as were eight members of the (Kurdish) People's Protection Units (YPG)," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Despite the attack, the YPG still controls some 80 percent of Kobane, which is known in Arabic as Ain al-Arab, the Britain-based group said.

Abdel Rahman said: "Friday's attack is an attempt by the IS to stop the YPG from continuing to advance."

The IS made speedy advances against the YPG in Kobane, forcing most residents to flee to Turkey after it laid siege to the town on September 16.

But the Kurds backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes have managed to claw back most of the area.