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Kurdish troops take back 'strategic' Syrian town of Kobane ending 4-month-long battle with IS

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ANI London

Kurdish troops have reportedly pushed back the Islamic State (IS) militants to take back the strategic Syrian city of Kobane, putting an end to the four-month-long battle for the town, officials said.

According to the BBC, fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) entered the outlying areas in the east of the town after the militants withdrew from the area.

The United States said that the terror group controlled almost 90 percent of the town.

The strategic town of Kobane, which is located on the Syrian-Turkey border, was seen as a "major test" for the U.S.-led coalition forces conducting a military campaign to take on the IS in Syria.

 

After the outfit launched an offensive in September and captured almost 300 villages before entering the predominantly Kurdish town itself, tens of thousands of people were displaced and nearly 1,600 lost their lives. London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 1,196 jihadists were among the dead.

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First Published: Jan 27 2015 | 9:55 AM IST

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