US Airstrikes Just Destroyed An ISIS 'Command Node' In Syria

A series of US airstrikes against ISIS-held targets in the beleaguered Syrian border town of Kobani destroyed a "command and control node," the US military said Wednesday.

The US-led coalition conducted eight strikes in and around Kobani, US Central Command said. The strikes near Kobani destroyed five ISIS fighting positions, a small ISIS unit, six ISIS vehicles, an ISIS-occupied building, and the command and control node, Centcom said.

The coalition also conducted six airstrikes in Iraq. Three airstrikes near Fallujah destroyed three small ISIS units, and three strikes near the town of Sinjar destroyed one small ISIS unit and two ISIS vehicles.

Over the past few weeks, the US has stepped up its airstrike campaign in Kobani in an attempt to aid Syrian Kurds attempting to prevent the town from falling to ISIS, which is also known as the Islamic State or ISIL. The US has also boosted the Kurdish forces fighting ISIS militants in the key town on the Syria-Turkey border, resupplying them with weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies.

Last weekend, the US-led coalition also escalated its airstrike campaign in Iraq, conducting 22 airstrikes last Friday and Saturday alone. Since last Friday, the coalition has conducted 56 airstrikes at various ISIS-held targets in Iraq.

Kurdish fighters in Kobani also got reinforcements from the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga, which sent fighters to Kobani on Tuesday. A senior Kurdish official told The Wall Street Journal the 160-some fighters could help turn the tide in the town within a couple of weeks.

In other areas of Syria, however, ISIS made gains against regime forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to multiple reports. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS fighters attacked and gained control of parts of an oil and gas field in a regime-held area of Syria.