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Spectators in Turkey Watch Airstrikes on Syrian Town

The U.S. and its coalition partners then stepped up airstrikes on ISIS in Kobani, Syria, as the militant group threatened to take the town.
Image: People watch from a hill after a US-led coalition airstrike on Kobani, Syria, took place.
People watch from a hill after a US-led coalition airstrike on Kobani, Syria, as seen from the Turkish side of the border, near Suruc district, Sanliurfa, Turkey, Oct. 19, 2014. SEDAT SUNA / EPA

People watch from a hill near Sanliurfa, Turkey, after a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on Kobani, Syria, took place on Sunday.

ISIS, which controls much of Syria and Iraq, fired 44 mortars at Kurdish parts of the town on Saturday, and some of the shells fell inside nearby Turkey, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said four more mortars were fired on Sunday.

The month-long battle for Kobani has ebbed and flowed. A week ago, Kurds said the town would soon fall. The United States and its coalition partners then stepped up airstrikes on ISIS, which wants to take Kobani in order to strengthen its position in northern Syria.

Image: Members of the media on a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, watch as smoke from a fire rises following a strike in Kobani, Syria
Members of the media on a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, watch as smoke from a fire rises following a strike in Kobani, Syria, during fighting between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State group, on Sunday. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters.Lefteris Pitarakis / AP
Reuters contributed to this report.