ISIS closes in on Kurdish town in Syria; Turkey debates sending troops
Story highlights
- President Obama meets with National Security Council over ISIS strategy
- Turkey deploys troops along its border with Syria as lawmakers debate intervention
- British planes strike two ISIS targets in northwestern Iraq
- ISIS closing in on the Kobani area of Syria
Turkish
soldiers and tanks took up position along the border with Syria on
Tuesday as its government debated whether to deploy troops to battle the
Islamic State terror group, a move that comes as tens of thousands pour
into the country to escape ISIS fighters.
The
flood of refugees from Syria has escalated -- with 150,000 people
fleeing to Turkey in recent days -- as ISIS fighters armed with tanks
and heavy weapons advance on the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani,
known in Arabic as Ayn al Arab, destroying villages in their path.
ISIS
fighters were just three kilometers (nearly two miles) east of the
northern Syria town late Monday, a civilian in Kobani told CNN on
condition of anonymity. CNN cannot independently confirm the claim,
though it matches reports released by the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, a monitoring group.
U.S. airstrikes overnight targeted ISIS positions near Kobani, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, spokesman for the Pentagon.
It
was unclear whether the strikes stopped the ISIS advance, and Kirby
provided only cursory details about what they targeted and what damage
may have resulted.
When asked why
airstrikes in the Kobani area appear to be limited, a senior U.S.
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a lack of direct,
reliable intelligence on the ground and the need to be precise to avoid
civilian casualties were among the factors.
Turkey considers going after ISIS
If
ISIS takes Kobani, it would control a complete swath of land from its
self-declared capital of Raqqa to the Turkish border, more than 100
kilometers (60 miles) away. It has been fighting for months, capturing
portions of northern and eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq for
what it says is its new Islamic state -- or caliphate.
The
Turkish Parliament on Tuesday took up the issue whether to send troops
into Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS. The debate was expected to continue
into the latter part of the week before lawmakers voted, according to
Anadolu, Turkey's semi-official news agency.
Turkey
has said it is offering support to a U.S.-led coalition targeting ISIS,
but has stopped short of joining the 40-some countries who make up the
coalition.
But with more than 150,000
refugees pouring into the country since last week, adding to the
hundreds of thousands who have already fled the Syrian civil war, and
concerns about ISIS controlling border points, Turkish lawmakers are
taking up the issue.
Obama assesses ISIS strategy
At
the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama met with his National
Security Council to discuss what White House officials described as a
comprehensive strategy to counter the threat posed by ISIS, also known
as ISIL.
The meeting follows Obama's
admission on CBS' "60 Minutes" that the United States underestimated the
strength of ISIS and overestimated the ability of the Iraqi security
forces to fight the group.
Nowhere was
that assessment more evident than in reports ISIS had seized another
Iraqi military base about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Baghdad over
the weekend.
Dozens of ISIS fighters
attacked the Albu Aytha military base, north of Ramadi, where 180 Iraqi
soldiers were stationed, according to Faleh al-Essawi, deputy head of
the Anbar provincial council.
ISIS has
been fanning out across the Sunni-dominated Anbar region in recent
months, targeting bases one by one across the vast area.
About
a week ago, details emerged regarding the massacre of more than 100
Iraqi soldiers at bases in Saqlawiyah and Sejar, also near Ramadi.
A handful of survivors accused the Iraqi government of failing to
respond to pleas for help ahead of the final ISIS assault on the base,
after a dayslong siege.
ISIS overruns military base
While
the majority of soldiers withdrew from the Albu Aytha base prior to it
being overrun Sunday by ISIS fighters, a number of soldiers appear to
have been killed.
Images posted online
by ISIS purport to show the takeover of the base in question, and
include images of men dressed in uniform who appear to be dead Iraqi
soldiers.
While CNN cannot
independently verify the authenticity of the ISIS images, giveaway
features on the base and in the landscape do appear to show western
Iraq, specifically, and very likely the base in question.
ISIS also seized a large weapons cache left behind at the base, al-Essawi said.
Amid the continuing violence, a string of car bombs and mortar attacks hit Iraqi cities, leaving dozens dead.
In
Baghdad, two car bombs and seven mortar attacks struck primarily Shiite
neighborhoods, killing at least nine people and wounding 40, police
officials said. Car bombs also exploded in the predominantly Shiite
cities of Hilla, Karbala and Basra, Iraqiya state TV reported. All three
are south of the Iraqi capital.
UK carries out first airstrikes
The
attacks came the same day that the United Kingdom said it conducted its
first airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, striking targets four days after
Parliament voted to approve the country's involvement.
British
planes helped Kurdish troops who were fighting ISIS in northwestern
Iraq, dropping a bomb on an ISIS heavy weapon position and shooting a
missile at an armed pickup truck, the UK's defense ministry said.
An initial assessment indicates both strikes were successful, according to the ministry.
British
planes had been involved in reconnaissance missions over Iraq in the
days since lawmakers approved UK airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq on
Friday, but Tuesday's strikes were a first.
Britain
joins the United States and France as countries that have hit ISIS in
Iraq with airstrikes, while Belgium and Denmark have also said they also
will provide planes. Of those nations, only the United States -- in
partnership with some Arab countries -- have struck ISIS positions in
neighboring Syria.
Peshmerga 'need more support'
In
northern Iraq, Kurdish fighters known as Pershmerga, went after ISIS
fighters in Rabia, a major border crossing between Syrian and Iraq that
has been under the control of the militants since late June, Brig. Gen.
Hazhar Ismail at the Peshmerga Ministry in Irbil told CNN.
ISIS
has been collecting money from people who use the border crossing, he
said. The operation was preceded by coalition airstrikes.
In
Iraq, airstrikes overnight destroyed more ISIS transport and armored
vehicles. There were also strikes near Mosul Dam, one of the country's
largest hydroelectric dams, the U.S. military also said. The dam
provides water to most of northern Iraq.
There were also strikes northwest of Baghdad and one that hit west Fallujah, according to the military.
On the ground, Hazhar said, the Kurdish forces needed closer air support in the form of helicopter cover during operations.
He
complained that the Peshmerga's budget, weapons and training must go
through the central government in Baghdad and claimed that the Peshmerga
"have not received one dollar from Iraq, even though Parliament has
approved funds."
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