NATO member Turkey has announced that alliance's 'joint defence mechanism' will be activated if ISIS breach border

shells fired by ISIS militants have fallen inside Turkish territory in recent days damaging homes in Atmanek

If Kobani falls ISIS will control unbroken 125-mile stretch of frontier with Turkey - 1,000 miles from the EU

But new reports say militants have entered city's eastern districts, engaging in street-to street fighting with defenders

resisting and earlier said they will not let them take city 'for as long as we live'


Islamic State militants have entered the key strategic city of Kobane, which lies on the Syrian-Turkish border, and have taken control of its eastern districts after engaging in street-to-street fighting with Kurdish defenders.

ISIS raised their flag over a building in the outskirts of the town yesterday morning following an assault lasting almost three weeks, amid fears the town could fall to the jihadists within hours.

Kobane is just six miles from the Turkish border - the gateway into Europe - and the NATO member country has already called on the international alliance to provide military assistance in the event that ISIS fighters breach the border.

Despite the symbolic raising of the flag, the town's brave Kurdish defenders earlier claimed that the terrorists had not reached the city centre and would not be allowed to do so 'for as long as we live'.

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Assault: ISIS militants raised their flag on a building on the eastern outskirts of the Syrian border town of Kobane yesterday after an assault of almost three weeks

But ISIS are believed to have now taken the town's industrial zone in the east - as hundreds of civilians flee to the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Turkish tanks were massing across the hillsides just miles away, with soldiers standing atop ready to fire.

Turkey has announced that NATO has drawn up a strategy to defend the country if it is attacked along its border with Syria, ABC News reports.

Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz yesterday said that NATO had done this at Turkey's request, adding: 'If there is an attack, NATO's joint defence mechanism will be activated.'

NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also spoke yesterday, claiming that the alliance had 'deployed Patriot missiles in Turkey to enhance and strengthen' the country's air defence.

He added: 'The main responsibility for NATO is to protect all allied countries. Turkey is a NATO ally and our main responsibility is to protect the integrity, the borders of Turkey,' NBC News reports.

Local sources inside Kobane confirmed the group had planted its flag but said that Kurdish forces had repelled their advances so far. At least 20 ISIS militants have so far been killed in their assault on the city yesterday - following the deaths of more than 45 fighters on each side on Sunday.

Turkish tanks are seen along the border with Syria as fighting between Kurdish forces and ISIS militants continues to rage in the nearby Syrian town of Kobane

Danger: A photograph taken from inside Turkey shows an ISIS flag on the hill overlooking the town of Kobane - also known as Ayn al-Arab - yesterday morning. Just visible beyond the Turkish tank (right) is a small barbed wire fence. The fence marks the extent of the Turkish-Syrian border in the area

Prepared: A Turkish soldier watches fighting between Kurdish forces and ISIS militants in Syria from a tank stationed on the Turkish side of the border

In this image shot with an extreme telephoto lens from the outskirts of Suruc at the Turkey-Syria border, a man is seen placing a black ISIS flag on a hilltop at the eastern side of the town of Kobani, Syria

ISIS militants (Rear) stand next to an ISIS flag atop a hill in the Syrian town of Kobane , as seen from the Turkish-Syrian border, as Turkish troops stand in the foreground

Charlie Cooper, a spokesman at the Quilliam Foundation, a British counter-extremism think tank, said: ‘The fall of Kobani is perilously close, if not inevitable. It is most likely there will be mass execution of those left fighting. Kobani is important symbolically because it is the last pocket of resistance in northern Syria for hundreds of miles.’

Jenan Moussa, a reporter for the Dubai-based network Al Aan, who is on the border, said there were fears in Kobani that ‘all will be killed’.

She posted a series of tweets, including: ‘Isis used booby trAlan Henning calls for David Cameron to send troops to ...apped cars to force their way through Kurdish defence lines in Kobani.’ Another read: ‘Isis entered #Kobani from both east & west. They are in the city. Street fights raging.’

Kobane is a town of key strategic importance to both ISIS and the Kurdish resistance due to its close proximity to the largely porous Turkish border.

While the city centre is roughly six miles from the barbed wire fence that separates Turkey from Syria, the city's northern suburbs are so close to Turkey that civilians in the Turkish town of Mursitpinar have been able to watch the fighting with binoculars.

Yesterday morning Kurdish fighters inside Kobane - which is also known as Ayn al-Arab and situated right on the Turkish border - declared that U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS targets in northern Syria have had little impact on the militant group, who have continued to seize swathes of territory.

'ISIL have only planted a flag on one building on the eastern side of town,' said Ismail Eskin, a journalist in the town, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.

'That is not inside the city, it's on the eastern side. They are not inside the city. Intense clashes are continuing,' he added.

ISIS has been battling to seize the predominantly Kurdish town after taking over large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq in recent months.

A group of five armed ISIS militants stand guard after erecting their flag on the hillside, as Turkish troops watch on from behind armed vehicles nearnby

Territory: ISIS militants have raised their flag above a hill (left) in eastern Kobane, and above a four-storey building in the city's suburbs (right)

Closing in: ISIS militants wave their black flag on a hill on the outskirts of Kobane. Another flag was later seen raised over a four-storey building inside the Kurdish city

Turkish tanks are silhouetted against the orange sky near the Turkey-Syria border after mortar shells hit Turkish territory in Suruc district, near Sanliurfa

Tanks of Turkish Armed Forces are seen on the hills at the Turkey - Syria borderline in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa Turkey, as the clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Kurdish armed groups continue in Kobani

Air strikes by American and Gulf state warplanes have failed to halt the advance of the Islamists, who have besieged the town from three sides and pounded it with heavy artillery.

'During the day sometimes IS makes advances but YPG pushes them back. There are clashes within the vicinity, but they are not inside the city, YPG is resisting,' said Pawer Mohammed Ali, a translator for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) inside Kobane.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a statement from the Kurdish force known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG, said more than 45 fighters on both sides were killed yesterday near Kobane - including a Kurdish female fighter who blew herself up, killing several jihadists.

Kobane and the surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with ISIS capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.

The assault has forced some 160,000 Syrians to flee - many of them across the porous border into neighboring Turkey - and has strained Kurdish forces, who have struggled to push back the extremists despite being aided by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

ISIS PLOTTING TROJAN HORSE CAMPAIGN BY SMUGGLING MILITANTS INTO EUROPE DISGUISED AS REFUGEES ISIS is plotting to smuggle militants into Western Europe disguised as refugees so that they can launch devastating terror attacks, according to US intelligence sources. Encrypted communications unravelled by American military intelligence have revealed that Islamic State leaders are planning to take advantage of the 'chaotic conditions' on the Syria-Turkey crossing. Relaxed border controls would allow IS militants to blend in with the thousands of genuine refugees spilling over the border in search of safety. The Trojan Horse tactic would see fighters equipped with fake passports, leaving them free to travel around European countries and plot terrorist attacks unchecked. A US intelligence source, speaking to German newspaper Bild, said that ISIS was moving away from plans to conduct aircraft hijackings for fear of tight security - and that they were looking to land a new strategy. 'In view of the chaotic conditions on the Syria-Turkey border, it is nearly impossible to catch Isis terrorists in the wave of refugees,' wrote Bild. Because hundreds of refugees cross the Syrian-Turkish border every day, the jihadists have a good chance of remaining unnoticed in the crowds. Advertisement

On the Turkish side of the border, at least 14 Turkish army tanks took up defensive positions on a hilltop near Kobane.

Heavy bombardment could be heard down below as plumes of smoke rose from the town.

A shell from the fighting struck a house and a small grocery store across the border in Turkey yesterday morning, but no one was wounded. At least four people were injured in a similar incident yesterday.

Despite mortars raining down on residential areas in Kobane and the stray fire hitting Turkish territory, Kurdish pleas for help have so far largely gone unanswered.

ISIS wants to take Kobane to consolidate a dramatic sweep across northern Iraq and Syria, in the name of an absolutist version of Sunni Islam, that has sent shockwaves through the Middle East.

Turkish forces fire tear gas to disperse Kurds on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, as news cameramen also run for cover amongst the group

Precautions: On the Turkish side of the border, at least 14 Turkish army tanks took up positions on a hilltop near Kobane

Defence: Turkish soldiers stand guard by their tanks near the Turkey-Syria border yesterday morning. Shells fired by ISIS militants hit the Turkish Suruc district overnight

On guard: Turkish soldiers stand guard by a tank near the border with Syria after fighting between Kurds and ISIS militants led to mortar shells hitting Turkish territory in Suruc district, near Sanliurfa, overnight

Turkish Kurds watch the fighting over the border as the tanks belonging to the country's arm hold their positions on a hilltop in the outskirts of Suruc

Close quarters: Kobane - where intense fighting between ISIS and Kurdish forces is ongoing - is right on the Turkish border

Heavily armed: A tank belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces is seen on the hills along the Turkey-Syria border this afternoon

Forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad burn the flag of al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which they said was left behind by rebel fighters, in Zor al-Mahruqa village

Tense: Turkish soldiers are seen on the hills overlooking the Syrian city of Kobane. ISIS militants are currently fighting Kurdish troops in the city's suburbs

The Turkish tanks moved into position to counter the threat posed by ISIS, who have seized chunks of the strategically important Syrian border town of Kobane

Worries: At least 14 Turkish army tanks took up positions on a hilltop overlooking Kobane yesterday. They are pictured in this image and two images below

Checks: Turkish soldiers use binoculars to look over the border into Syria and watch the fighting fighting between Kurds and ISIS militants in Kobane

Firepower: Stray fire has hit Turkish territory in recent days, but pleas for help by Kurdish forces have so far largely gone unanswered

Might: A Turkish tank kicks up a cloud of dust while carrying out exercises on a hilltop overlooking Kobane this afternoon

Kurdish Turks stand along the Turkey-Syria border, using binoculars to watch fighting between ISIS militants and Kurdish forces in the Syrian city of Kobane

A cave used by opposition fighters as a base in the village of Zour al-Mahrouka, near the northern Syrian city of Mhardeh, in the Hama province sits deserted

Damage: A missile fired by ISIS militants fighting near Kobane in Syria hit a house in Atmanek, Turkey yesterday

Spread: A missile fired by ISIS militants attacking the Syrian town of Kobane struck this home in Atmanek on the Turkish side of the border yesterday

Beheadings, mass killings and torture have spread fear of the group across the region, with villages emptying at the approach of pick-up trucks flying Islamic State's black flag.

'If they enter Kobane, it will be a graveyard for us and for them. We will not let them enter Kobane as long as we live,' Esmat al-Sheikh, head of the Kobani Defence Authority, said by telephone earlier on Monday.

'We either win or die. We will resist to the end,' he added as heavy weapons fire echoed from the eastern side of town.

Yesterday morning Kurdish fighters in the city declared that U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS targets in northern Syria have had little impact on the militant group, who have now advanced to within 1.2 miles of central Kobane - also known as Ayn al-Arab and situated right on the Turkish border.

'Air strikes alone are really not enough to defeat Isis in Kobani,' Idris Nassan, a senior spokesman for local Kurdish fighters told the Guardian, using an an alternative name for the city.

'They are besieging the city on three sides, and fighter jets simply cannot hit each and every Isis fighter on the ground,' he added.

The claim comes just two weeks after America extended its bombing campaign beyond Iraq and into northern Syria, an ISIS stronghold - particularly around de facto capital Raqqa, where the vast majority of the terrorist group's operatives are based.

Target: Smoke rises after a shell landed in Kobane, Syria as fighting between Kurds forces and ISIS intensified. Kurdish fighters in the city yesterday declared that U.S.-led airstrikes are having little impact on the militant group

Fire: ISIS militants have now advanced to within 1.2 miles of central Kobane - which is also known as Ayn al-Arab and situated right on the Turkish border

Raqqa is also where the sickening filmed murders of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning are believed to have taken place, and where other hostages such as Briton John Cantlie and American Peter Kassig are thought to be held.

The YPG said in a statement that there were 50 points of clashes around Kobane yesterday, adding that 74 Islamic State fighters as well as 15 Kurdish gunmen were killed. The Observatory, which gathers information from activists inside Syria, said 27 jihadists and 19 Kurds were killed in the battles, making it one of the deadliest days since the latest round of fighting began three weeks ago.

Syrian Kurdish forces have long been among the most effective adversaries of the Islamic State group, keeping it out of their enclave in northeastern Syria even as the extremists routed the armed forces of both Syria and neighboring Iraq in recent months.

But in recent weeks the overstretched Kurds have struggled to counter the increasingly well-armed militants.

Speaking of the militants' response to airstrikes in Kobane, Mr Nassan said: 'Each time a jet approaches, they leave their open positions, they scatter and hide.'

'What we really need is ground support. We need heavy weapons and ammunition in order to fend them off and defeat them,' he added.

Yesterday morning an activist group and a Kurdish official say gunmen defending Kobane repelled a wide offensive by jihadi fighters loyal to ISIS.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a statement by the Kurdish YPK force say more than 45 fighters on both sides were killed near the Turkish border yesterday.

Kurdish fighter Deilar Kanji Khamis becomes first female to carry out suicide bomb attack against IS A Female Kurdish fighter carried out a suicide bomb attack against advancing Islamic State militants, it has emerged. Deilar Kanj Khamis, known by her military name Arin Mirkan, blew herself up at an IS position east of the border town of Kobane, killing ten jihadists. It was the first known case of a female Kurdish fighter carrying out a suicide bomb attack against IS. As Kurdish fighters withdrew from a position on the strategic hill of Mistenur, above the city, Khamis stayed behind. In a desperate attempt to stop them advancing, she attacked IS fighters with gunfire and grenades and then eventually blew herself up, according to a defence official in Syria’s Kurdish region. She was among 15 fighters who ‘martyred’ themselves after facing jihadists, ‘with all their strength’, it was reported in a statement. According to sources, she was a mother with two children, though this was unconfirmed. While there is little else known about Mirkan, she was a member of the Women’s Protection Unit, a branch of the Peoples Protection Units. The force has more than 10,000 female fighters who played a major role in the battles against IS. Yesterday the force suggested all of their fighters would martyr themselves if it meant defeating IS and protecting the pivotal border town. A statement from the People’s Defence Unit read: ‘As a result of remarkable resistance by our units on the axes of the city, repelling the invading attacks, 15 of our comrades martyred in action after facing the mercenaries with all the strength. ‘Of our martyrs was valiant comrade Arin, she was able to perform a fedai action and kill dozens of ISIS mercenaries and stop their advance, such strong will and determination shown by comrade Arin will be the spirit of resistance in the hearts of all our combatants of the People’s Defence Units and Women’s Defense Units. ‘If necessary, all our fighters will be comrade Arin and shall not allow the mercenaries reach their wishes at whatever cost.’ The YPG had earlier called on all Kurds to join the fight against IS as the radical group edged closer to the centre of the city near the Turkish border. On Sunday night supporters took to Twitter in support of her actions. Kurdihez wrote: ‘She fought and died like a hero for us all. Don’t forget Arin Mirkan.’ Another wrote: ‘I weep tonight for a lady I never met, never talked to nor heard, a lady who will always be braver and stronger than me, a lady who is ArinMirkan. Advertisement

Hundreds of Kurdish refugees cross the Syria-Turkey border every day as they flee to safety - now ISIS plans to disguise its militants as refugees in the hope that they can eventually infiltrate Western Europe

The Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman yesterday morning that one of the attacks against Islamic State fighters was carried by a female Kurdish fighter who blew herself up, killing 10 jihadists.

The Kurdish official identified the suicide attacker as Deilar Kanj Khamis.

The Islamic State group has pushed to the outskirts of Kobane as part of a week-long offensive against the town and surrounding villages.

Meanwhile, Syrian government forces yesterday seized control of a strategic area outside Damascus used by rebels to fire mortar shells at the capital.

In shocking pictures, the city's Dakhaniyeh neighberhood, southeast of the city, resembled a post-apocalyptic wasteland with piles of rubble surrounding crumbling buildings.

A picture taken yesterday shows a heavily damaged arc at the entrance of the Dakhaniyeh neighberhood, south-east of the capital Damascus, after Syrian government forces seized control of area

The capture comes almost a month after government forces launched an attack to regain control of the area