Fighting between Kurds and Islamic State group militants continues in Kobani

(12 Oct 2014) Fighting continued on Sunday in the Syrian Kurdish border city of Kobani, besieged by militants from the Islamic State (IS) group. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the city in which 500 people have been killed since the assault by Islamic State group started. Two weeks of airstrikes by the US-led coalition targeting the militants in and around Kobani appear to have done little to blunt the militants' onslaught on the city. Activists say the Islamic State group, whose flag could be seen atop a building in east Kobani on Sunday, is now trying to advance street by street. Kobani has been under assault by extremists since mid-September and is being defended by fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPK. Meanwhile, the Turkish army presence is intense on the border, with more than a dozen tanks and armed vehicles positioned on the hills across Kobani. The assault on Kobani has forced more than 200,000 to flee across the border into Turkey and a new camp has been set up by Suruc Municipality to accommodate the refugees. The United Nations has warned that hundreds of civilians who remain trapped in Kobani were likely to be "massacred" if it falls to the Islamic State group. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...