Battle for Kobane: Before and after satellite images of Syrian town at centre of Islamic State fight

Satellite images reveal fighting has made widespread changes to the Syrian border town of Kobane - including destroyed buildings, craters, trenches, fortified fighting lines and few vehicles on the road.

For weeks, militants from the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish forces supported by US air strikes have been fighting a fierce battle for the Syrian town of Kobane, close to the border with Turkey.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has released satellite images of Kobane from September 6 and October 15.

Use these interactive before and after images to see the impact of the battle on Kobane.

Images: © 2014 DigitalGlobe; produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT

Widespread damage to buildings

The Islamic State militants' push into Kobane is seen as a strategic move to consolidate the group's position in northern Syria, after seizing large amounts of territory there and in Iraq.

It would also give the group more secure supply lines.

This image shows the level of destruction to a northern area of Kobane: several buildings have been destroyed, possibly by air strikes, while other structures have been significantly damaged.

Syrians flee across the Turkish border

[Fig 5]

IS's Kobane offensive is one of several it has conducted after a series of advances since June, and Kurdish forces had warned the town was on the verge of falling into IS control.

Since then, US-led air strikes have been extended from missions in Iraq to also include Syria.

US planes have also dropped supplies, including weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish forces fighting on the ground.

Thousands of people have fled Kobane, abandoning hundreds of vehicles on the Syrian side of the border near a crossing into Turkey.

Efforts made to control the roads

[Fig 2]

Roadblocks and access control points have been established in an attempt to control or prevent access to the city.

UNITAR says there is also "a probable fortified fighting line" running through the middle of the after photo.

This static image, taken on October 15, shows damage to an eastern area of Kobane, and provides another view of the spread of roadblocks.

Craters blown into fields

[Fig 3]

Farming areas around Kobane have not been spared from the violence.

The satellite images show numerous munitions impact craters in the fields around the city.

Fortifying fighting positions

[Fig 4]

UNITAR says the changes in this image are a fortified fighting position inside the city, close to an access road with restricted access.

Refugees seek safety and shelter

[Fig 6]

Turkey is struggling to cope with more than 1 million refugees from Syria's civil war.

Turkish government officials have said more than 172,000 Syrians fleeing Kobane and the surrounding areas have recently entered the country, the UN refugee agency reported on October 10.

These images show the transformation of an open area on the Turkish side of the border into a refugee camp within a matter of weeks.

Credits:

Images : © 2014 DigitalGlobe; produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT

: © 2014 DigitalGlobe; produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT Producer : Sarah Scopelianos

: Sarah Scopelianos Developer : Colin Gourlay

: Colin Gourlay Editor: Matthew Liddy

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic