Australians among the largest contingent of foreign jihadists killed as the Syrian city was taken by Kurdish forces, a senior US state department official says

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Australians were among the largest contingent of foreign jihadists killed in the battle for Kobani, a senior US state department official has said, after Kurdish forces announced the “liberation” of the Syrian city on Monday.

A coalition of Kurdish and Syrian rebel fighters claimed full control over Kobani, located less than a mile from the Turkish border, after a bloody four-month siege by the militia group known as Islamic State (Isis or Isil).

Their victory was confirmed by a senior US state department official on Tuesday, who told AFP: “[Isis] is now, whether on order or whether they are breaking ranks, is beginning to withdraw from the town.”

A “hugely, hugely significant” number of foreign fighters were killed in the battle, he said, nominating Australia, Belgium, Canada and Chechnya as major source countries.

Unofficial estimates suggest around 1,200 Islamic State fighters died trying to capture the city. “We don’t get into body counts, but it’s in the four figures in terms of the overall number of Isil fighters that have been killed,” the state department official said.

“The entire notion of this organisation which is on the march, inevitable expansion, [its] overall momentum has been halted at Kobani,” he added.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the government’s capacity to confirm Australian deaths in the area was “extremely limited”.



“Reports such as this are a reminder to would-be foreign terrorist fighters that Australians joining terrorist groups such as Isil are being exploited,” he said.

The attorney general, George Brandis, said on Sunday about 90 Australians were believed to be fighting in Syria and Iraq, up from about 70 last year, with young women increasingly among their ranks.

Brandis said in December that 20 Australians were confirmed to have been killed in the conflict. Since then a Melbourne man, Mahmoud Abdullatif, is believed to have died fighting with Isis. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Ghazzawi, from Sydney, has also been killed.

National security legislation passed by the Abbott government last year allows for entire countries or regions to be declared “no-go zones” for Australian citizens.

The Isis stronghold of Al-Raqqa, in Syria, was the first area to be nominated. Australians who travel to the city without a “legitimate reason” face up to 10 years in jail.