Photos taken inside Kobani show entire blocks levelled by bombardment, with tangled steel and chunks of cement sprawled along muddy streets. Roads are littered with unexploded ordnance and mortar casings.

Inside Kobani
A Kurdish fighter holds his child in the centre of the newly-liberated Syrian border town of Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) stand on the debris of a damaged building in the northern Syrian town of Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish man talks on a radio as he scans the eastern part of Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
An injured Kurdish fighter sits near a mortar shell Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
An unexploded mortar shell sticks out of a street in Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
An unexploded mortar shell lies on a road in Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP

The main Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units, or YPG, said Kobani had been "completely liberated" from Islamic State (IS) militants.

Known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, the mainly Kurdish town close to the Turkish border has become a focal point in the international fight against the radical Islamist group.

Inside Kobani
Two female Kurdish fighters walk along a street in Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish fighter smiles as he drives a car in the centre of the Syrian border town of Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
Kurdish fighters smile after the YPG liberated Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A shell is used as a vase in the Syrian border town of Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish man stands in a destroyed building in Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish fighter position is seen in a destroyed building Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A fighter drives a car with heavy gun mounted on it Bulent Kilic/AFP
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish fighter talks on the phone next to an overturned vehicle in Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP

The victory in Kobani came at a high cost. "The city has been fully liberated," said senior Kurdish official Idriss Nassan, speaking by telephone from inside the town. He said Kobani is "nearly destroyed".

The scope of the destruction will make it hard for refugees to return anytime soon. "The war in the town is over but the difficult task has begun," said an activist. "There is no water, electricity or sewage system."

Inside Kobani
A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) flashes a V-sign as he patrols the streets of Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
Kurdish men stand next to a damaged car in Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) patrol on a motorcycle in the streets of the northern Syrian town of Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
A Kurdish woman sits with YPG fighters behind a wall of sandbags Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
People walk in the rubble of damaged buildings in Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
A YPG fighter sits in an armoured vehicle in Kobani Osman Orsal/Reuters
Inside Kobani
Wreckage left by fighting is strewn on a street in Kobani Bulent Kilic/AFP

Turkey is hosting around 1.5 million refugees from across Syria.

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