Fighting for Kobani

Smoke rises over Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 18, 2014.

A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.

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People gather to celebrate in the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, after Kurdish forces said they took full control of the Syrian town of Kobani, January 27, 2015.

Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds said they took full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle.

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People dance as they celebrate in Kurdish-dominated Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, after Kurdish forces took full control of the Syrian town of Kobani, January 26, 2015.

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Kurdish civilians offer sweets in celebration after it was reported that Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani, in Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood of Aleppo January 27, 2015.

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Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units patrol the streets of the northern Syrian town of Kobani, January 28, 2015.

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Kurdish refugees watch from a hilltop as thick smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani during heavy fighting between Islamic State and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 26, 2014.

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Haj Amina, 55, a Kurdish refugee from Kobani, is comforted by other women as she mourns during the funeral of five Kurdish, Kobani fighters in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 28, 2014.

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Kurdish peshmerga fighters wave Kurdish flags atop an army vehicle as they move towards the Syrian town of Kobani from the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 31, 2014.

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Kurdish civilians march by the Turkish-Syrian border village of Caycara to protest against Islamic State, during a rally in solidarity with the people of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, November 1, 2014.

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Turkish soldiers keep warm atop a hill overlooking the Syrian town of Kobani, near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province November 2, 2014.

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A Kurdish refugee boy from the Syrian town of Kobani holds onto a fence that surrounds a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province November 3, 2014.

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A Turkish soldier places a carpet next to a military vehicle, as he watches fighting between Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants, from atop a hill overlooking the Syrian town of Kobani, near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province November 5, 2014.

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A U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber aircraft flies over the Syrian town of Kobani, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province, following an air strike, November 15, 2014.

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A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) sits in an armoured vehicle in the northern Syrian town of Kobani, January 28, 2015.

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A mortar shell is pictured in a street of the northern Syrian town of Kobani, January 28, 2015.

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A Turkish Kurd walks at Mursitpinar on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, as smoke from a fire caused by a strike rises over Kobani, inside Syria, as fighting intensifies between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State, Oct. 8, 2014.

Kobani and its surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.

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An Islamic State fighter sits at a checkpoint used by Kurdish fighters in al-Jurn village in the countryside of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, after Islamic State fighters took control of the area, Oct. 7, 2014.

U.S.-led air strikes on Wednesday pushed Islamic State fighters back to the edges of the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, which they had appeared set to seize after a three-week assault, Kurdish officials in the town said.

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Smoke rises after a U.S.-led air strike in the Syrian town of Kobani, Oct. 8, 2014.

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani after a war plane carried out an air strike, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 7, 2014.

Islamic State fighters advanced into the south west of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani overnight, a monitoring group said on Tuesday, taking several buildings to gain attacking positions from two sides of the city.

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Newly arrived Syrian Kurdish refugees wait with their belongings after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town Kobani, near the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc, Oct. 7, 2014.

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Kurdish people throw stones at Turkish armored vehicles firing tear gas as Turkish army soldiers try to remove people from the Turkish-Syrian border area near the Syrian town of Kobani, Oct. 7, 2014.

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Turkish soldiers stand guard as protesters run away from tear gas during a pro-Kurdish demonstration in solidarity with the people of Kobani, near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, Oct. 7, 2014.

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani after an air strike, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, Oct. 7, 2014.

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 6, 2014.

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An ISIS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near the Syrian town of Kobani, pictured from the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 6, 2014.

Islamic State militants raised their flag on a building on the eastern outskirts of the Syrian border town of Kobani on Monday after an assault of almost three weeks, but the town's Kurdish defenders said they had not reached the city center.

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Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, as seen from the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 6, 2014.

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Newly arrived Syrian Kurdish refugees stand at the back of a truck after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town Kobani, near the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc, Oct. 6, 2014.

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Kurdish people wach air strikes in Kobani, as seen from the Turkish-Syrian border during heavy fighting, in the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 7, 2014.

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Kurdish refugees from the Syrian town of Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Oct. 5, 2014.

Islamist militants attacking the Syrian border town fought some of their heaviest battles so far with Kurdish forces on Sunday, a local official said, and five people were wounded inside Turkey by a projectile fired across the frontier.

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Turkish soldiers patrol at the village of Mursitpinar next to the Syrian town of Kobani, on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 5, 2014.

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A Kurdish refugee rests after evacuating the Syrian town of Kobani, at the border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Oct. 5, 2014.