Islamic State militants have been driven from the north Syrian town of Kobani, after a four-month siege that saw both sides commit all available resources to an increasingly symbolic struggle.
Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) cleared the final Isis-held neighbourhood this morning and then danced amid the ruins of their town.
“Kobani has been liberated by the YPG, but now we are fighting to take back control of all the villages in the countryside around the town,” a Kurdish commander, Ismat Sheikh Hassan, told The Times.
It was an extraordinary resurgence by a Kurdish force that once appeared to be facing inevitable defeat as Isis forces took more than half the town during September and October. However, a combination of tenacious defence,