Battles in Syrian Kurdish city kill over 600

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More than 600 people, including civilians, have been killed in Syria's predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, since the battle erupted between the Islamic State (IS) militants and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) one month ago, an oppositional monitoring group reported Thursday.

The death toll includes 20 Kurdish civilians, 258 YPG and other affiliated Kurdish fighters, as well as 374 IS members, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on ground.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition carried out six airstrikes against IS positions in the eastern part of Ayn al-Arab overnight until Thursday morning, amid ongoing battles between the YPG and IS fighters northwest of a Kurdish security sector in the city, according to the Observatory.

The IS and the YPG also attacked each other's positions in southern and southwestern parts of the city, the Observatory said, adding that the YPG attacked IS militants in western countryside of Ayn al-Arab, achieving some advancement.

The IS unleashed its wide-scale offensive against Ayn al-Arab, bordering Turkey, on Sept. 15 in a bid to capture the city, which, if succeeded, would enable the IS to link its self-declared capital of al-Raqqa province with Ayn al-Arab and stretch its territory to areas bordering Turkey.

Syrian government officials and Kurdish activists have accused Turkey of aiding the IS in capturing the city so as to eliminate the Kurdish presence in the area and impose a long-desired buffer area protected by a no-fly zone in northern Syria.

The IS has captured more than 300 villages around the city and managed to storm it after forcing over 160,000 people to flee toward neighboring Turkey.

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