Syria: Kurdish fighters 'have nearly expelled' Islamic State from Kobani

kobani blast — A shell explodes in the Syrian city of Kobani. Aris Messinis/AFP

Kurdish fighters have nearly pushed the Islamic State (Isis) out of the Syrian border town of Kobani (also known as Kobane) after 133 days of siege fighting, according to Kurdish sources and a monitoring group.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) "have almost full control over Kobane after expelling Islamic State fighters".

The report was confirmed by Kurdish politician Hemin Hawrami, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP's) foreign relations team, on Twitter.

Good news. After 4 months, with decisive support and participation of #Peshmerga forces now all #ISIS terrorists are driven out of #Kobanê
— Hemin Hawrami (@heminhawrami) January 26, 2015

Earlier on Monday, the London-based Syrian Observatory reported that YPG fighters took control of over 90% of Kobani, advancing in the Kani Erban and Maqtalah neighbourhoods and pushing Isis militants to the eastern outskirts of the town.

Local media broadcast news of the almost-complete liberation of the flashpoint town:

Video reports on the liberation of #Kobane on Kurdish media http://t.co/cIBlBrGuTH http://t.co/X4nVF4eaqo reports of continued fighting
— reported.ly (@reportedly) January 26, 2015