By William Tucker
Chief Correspondent for In Homeland Security
After weeks of laying siege to the Syrian-Kurdish city of Kobane (Ayn al-Arab), ISIS militants appear on the verge of entering the city. Kurdish forces are outnumbered and don’t possess the heavier weaponry employed of ISIS, but they have managed to hold their own in the midst of the onslaught. The Kurdish defense, however, is beginning to crumble. Recent reports suggest that ISIS forces are within one mile of the city, while many Kurdish forces have been forced to pull back. This doesn’t mean the Kurds are planning to abandon the city, rather some forces have stated they are waiting for ISIS to enter the city so they may employ insurgent tactics. With so many people having fled the city, and considering the violence for which ISIS is known, this may not be a sound strategy. In the Iraqi town of Zawiya, for instance, IS put down the local uprising by destroying the city and all 200 homes. ISIS has no qualms about such destruction and any ideals to the contrary are simply illusions.
ISIS is still on the move in Iraq as well. Reports from just a few hours ago suggest that the western Iraqi city of Hit – located on the Euphrates just northwest of Ramadi – has fallen to ISIS. By taking Hit, ISIS has nearly taken all of Iraqi Highway 12. IS has already taken portions of Highway 1 to the west of Baghdad, and if the organization can secure the highway between Ramadi and Baghdad, it will be well positioned for an assault on the Iraqi capital. They may not choose to assault Baghdad immediately, however, as they may want to recruit more people inside the city as they have done elsewhere. Assaulting Baghdad may not be a given for IS, but their seizing of the approaching infrastructure to the west cannot be ignored.
In other IS related news, Turkey’s Parliament has approved a measure to allow for the use of military force in Syria and Iraq to protect its interests in both countries. This does not imply that Ankara is preparing to take immediate action in either country, rather Turkey is laying the groundwork for military action if it is deemed necessary. Turkey is still overtly focused on ousting Assad – something that isn’t currently on the agenda of the U.S. led coalition – so any action against ISIS may be limited to protecting its shared borders with Syria and Iraq. That being said, with the approval of this measure, Turkey is now better positioned to respond militarily as it sees fit, so it is possible that Ankara could become more aggressive if it chooses. There is still much to be seen as to how Turkey will ultimately employ military force, but the approval of this measure may bring some relief to a few nations in the anti-ISIS coalition.
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