Kobane, Syria — From a small, backwater tucked in northern Syria, the Kurdish town of Kobane was thrown onto the world stage in September when militants linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State stormed in and captured almost half the town, triggering a surge of tens of thousands of refugees. Nearly three months of devastating fighting later, the Kurdish men and women of Kobane are still stubbornly defending the town, slowly clawing back territory from the militants on several fronts. Although far from over, the extremists' blunted drive to capture the town on the Turkish broder has come to symbolize their limits as they fight enemies on multiple fronts in both Iraq and Syria. The Kurdish fighters of Kobane have been aided by US airstrikes hitting militants in and around the town — more than 310 since mid-September — and a group of Kurdish peshmerga forces from Iraq who came to Kobane with more advanced weapons. A second battalion of peshmerga forces crossed into Kobane this week, replacing the first wave. Perhaps in an attempt to cut its losses, IS appears to be shifting its attention away from Kobane, launching a major attack this week on a key military air base in eastern Syria. An exclusive series of reports shot by videojournalist Jake Simkin, who spent a week inside Kobane late last month, offered a rare, in-depth glimpse of the horrendous destruction inflicted on the town and the lives of the fighters and civilians left behind. Here's the series of stories: Kobane: Devastation mixed with optimism Blocks of low-rise buildings with hollow facades, shattered concrete, streets strewn with rubble and overturned, crumpled remains of cars and trucks. Such is the landscape in Kobane, where the sounds of rifle and mortar fire resonate all day long in fighting between Islamic State extremists and the Syrian town's Kurdish defenders. Kurdish fighters peek through sand-bagged positions, firing at suspected militant positions. Female fighters in trenches move quickly behind sheets strung up to block the view of snipers. Foreign jets circle overhead. The fighters, backed by small numbers of Iraqi peshmerga forces and Syrian rebels, are locked in what they see as an existential battle against the militants, who swept into their town in mid-September as part of a summer blitz after the so-called Islamic State group overran large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. Several fighters with the the People's Protection Units, or YPG, the main Kurdish fighting force, spoke confidently of a coming victory. Jamil Marzuka, a senior commander, said the fighting has “entered a new phase” in the last week. “We can tell everyone, not just those on the front lines, that we are drawing up the necessary tactics and plans to liberate the city,” he said. A YPG fighter, who identified himself only by his first name, Pozul, said only small pockets of militants remain. Still, he said he and other fighters must remain wary as they move around because Islamic State snipers lurk amid the ruins and the militants have booby-trapped buildings they left behind. “They are scattered so as to give us the impression that there are a lot of them, but there are not,” he said. The Kurds' claims of imminent victory may be overly ambitious. But the AP's reporting has found that the Islamic State group's drive has at least been blunted. Hundreds of militants have been killed, most of them by airstrikes. On Friday, activists said IS militants withdrew from large parts of the so-called Kurdish security quarter, an eastern district where Kurdish militiamen maintain security buildings and offices. Militants had seized the area last month. Zardasht Kobane, a 26-year-old YPG unit commander, has been fighting day and night for weeks. Often he and his fellow fighters were short on ammunition and sleep, he said. Now he feels an important victory at is at hand. The battle of Kobane has had a crucial symbolism for both sides. He said the militants have failed in Kobane and are looking for a way out. “But IS knows that escaping from Kobane will spell their downfall,” he said. Kurdish civilians endure IS fight One of the few signs of life in this border town is the old bakery, revived by Kurdish fighters. Closed down for some 20 years, the production line now bakes two tons of doughy bread every day to energize the fighters and feed the spatter of civilians left behind. “We came and fixed up (the bakery) for use in these difficult times,” said Fathi Misiro, a YPG fighter who works in the bakery. “Ten days ago ... it was worse here. We've been helping people and sending bread to them daily.” Outside the bakery, children playfully jump in and out of foxholes, barely fazed by the thunderous explosions nearby. Kobane as it was has been virtually erased. Rubble is all that remains of people's homes and their memories. Shops are gutted. Schools are flattened. The battle with the Islamic State group comes at a heavy price for the town's remaining residents. While most of Kobane's population of 50,000 managed to flee across the nearby border with Turkey, some 2,000 Kurdish civilians opted to stay with the hope that fighting will soon subside. They sleep in their cars or makeshift tents on the outskirts of the town, where barbed wire and land mines mark the Turkish border. Militant-fired mortars rain down on them regularly. Some farmers escaped with their machinery and livestock. Others lost everything. “My sheep were taken. I lost my cow, for God's sake, my hens, my bedding, our sacks of wheat were stolen,” said one woman interviewed in the video report, expressing gratitude for the bread the YPG fighters are providing. Then, there are those who lost loved ones as the militants moved in. Another woman named Parvin had to carry her two injured daughters to safety after they were hit by mortar fire. Her 7-year-old was then sent to Turkey and died there. “We brought her body back and buried her here in Kobane,” said Parvin, her heartache written on her face. She and the other farmer spoke on condition they remain anonymous or be identified only by first name for fear of reprisals. Kurdish women on the frontline On the front lines of the battle for Kobane, Kurdish female fighters have been playing a major role in helping defend the Syrian town from the onslaught by the Islamic State extremist group. Pervin Kobane, the 19-year-old daughter of a farmer, is one of them. She is part of a team holding an eastern front-line position that comes under regular attack from the extremist fighters, who have been trying to seize the town since mid-September. — AP
