logo

Amid Major Expansion, ISIS Suffers Defeat in Kobani

image
Author: Andrew Gripp
Created: 29 January, 2015
Updated: 21 November, 2022
3 min read
After more than 130 days of intense combat with Islamic State (IS) forces, Kurdish fighters, including members of Syrian Popular Protection Units (YPG) and Iraqi

pesh merga militias have largely reclaimed the city of Kobani.

The battle for Kobani began in September 2014, when IS forces started seizing villages to the east of the city. By mid-October, jihadist fighters achieved their high-water mark by claiming more than one-third of Kobani proper.

On January 26, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that Kurdish forces were in control of 90 percent of the Syrian border city, whose population swelled to over 400,000 as refugees fled toward Turkey to escape the civil war.

The U.S. aided the Kurdish fighters with over 600 airstrikes between September and January, which the YPG acknowledged played a decisive role in degrading IS’s military capabilities. The airstrikes are one aspect of Operation Inherent Resolve – America’s mission to assist ground troops against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Top American officials disagree about the importance of the victory. In October 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry denied that Kobani possessed any strategic significance. However, CENTCOM’s January 26 press release affirmed, “ISIL's failure in Kobani has denied them one of their strategic objectives.”

A defense official told Mother Jones that it was IS’s commitment to capturing Kobani that gave it its symbolic and strategic importance: "You would need to ask ISIL why the emphasis on Kobani," she said. Nearly 1,200 IS fighters died in the four-month battle.

IS’s retreat from the city comes as it has expanded its organization and operations in recent months.

In a quest to strengthen its legitimacy as the resurrected Islamic caliphate, IS has sought

bayat­ ­– a pledge of allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – from various jihadist organizations. In November, insurgents from five countries -- Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen -- formally declared their loyalty to the emir.

In return, al-Baghdadi announced the creation of new wilayah – provinces – of the Islamic State, and earlier this month, an IS spokesman announced that a local leader from the Pakistani Taliban would head the Khorasan Province, which includes swaths of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

IVP Existence Banner

IS has also expanded its militarily in recent months, including several assaults on an Iraqi border post near Jordan.

On January 6, a female operative conducted a terror attack in Istanbul, Turkey, and on January 27, two ISIS-allied gunmen operating within the so-called Tripoli Province killed five people at a hotel in Libya, including an American security worker, former U.S. Marine David Berry.

The frequency and scope of terrorist attacks, which have occurred recently in Canada, Australia, and France, have motivated Western countries to bolster their assistance to rebel fighters and the Iraqi government.

On January 22, London hosted a summit for leaders from more than 20 countries, including Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who requested more international military support while 12 new Iraqi brigades undergo training. Secretary Kerry pledged to send U.S. M16 rifles to arm the Iraqi forces, which are facing budgetary problems because of declining global oil prices.

France, which has also assisted Kurdish rebels through airstrikes in Operation Chammal, has promised to send more advisors to northern Iraq.

How to confront IS in Syria following the victory in Kobani remains a more sensitive issue, especially given the gridlock that plagues diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian civil war. IS currently controls more than 20,000 square miles of territory there, and analysts anticipate that IS is re-grouping and planning to take the town of Hasakah, which lies on a strategic location between Raqqa – the capital of the so-called Islamic State, and Mosul, Iraq’s third most populous city – currently occupied by IS.

Images have recently emerged showing the brutal enforcement of Shariah in Mosul, including crucifixions, the execution of homosexuals, and the stoning of adulterers.

The Pentagon announced on January 16 that it would send up to 1,000 troops to Syria to train moderate rebels.

IVP Existence Banner

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read