U.S. Resupplies Kurdish Forces Fighting ISIL Near Kobani

From a U.S. Central Command News Release

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 20, 2014 – U.S. military forces conducted multiple airdrops near Kobani, Syria, last night to resupply Kurdish forces on the ground defending the city against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists, U.S. Central Command officials reported.

Air Force C-130 aircraft deployed to the Centcom area of responsibility delivered weapons, ammunition and medical supplies that were provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq and intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL's attempts to overtake Kobani, officials said, adding that all aircraft left the airdrop zone safely.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The airdrops were conducted in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to degrade and defeat ISIL and the threat it poses to the region and the wider international community.

To date, Centcom officials said, U.S. forces have conducted more than 135 airstrikes against ISIL in Kobani. Combined with continued resistance to ISIL on the ground, they added, indications are that these strikes have slowed ISIL advances into the city, killed hundreds of the terrorist group’s fighters and destroyed or damaged scores of pieces of combat equipment and fighting positions.

However, officials noted, the security situation in Kobani remains fragile, and the city still could fall.