After arms drop, US coalition strikes Islamic State positions in Kobani

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province on Monday.

Syrian activists say the U.S.-led coalition has launched new airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Kobani, following overnight airdrops of weapons to Kurdish fighters in the Syrian border town.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a “large amount of weapons and ammunition” have reached the main Kurdish militia in the town, near the Syrian-Turkish border.

The activists say there were five airstrikes in Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab. The Observatory and Kobani-based activist Farhad Shami say the airstrikes began on Sunday night and continued until early Monday.

The Observatory, which has activists on the ground in Syria, says the latest round of fighting between Kurdish militiamen and extremists in Kobani killed at least eight members of the Islamic State group.