Fighting raged
Fighting raged around Kobane as the jihadists pressed their nearly three-week siege of the town, which saw them make some progress late Saturday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group.
The battle was continuing early on Sunday, with shelling echoing from Kobane -- also known as Ain al-Arab -- and fighter jets roaring overhead, an AFP reporter just across the border in Turkey said.
Standing on the roof of a building overlooking the town, 55-year-old Turkish Kurd Mahmut Yildirim said the fight for Kobane was a "do or die battle".
The Observatory, which relies on a network of local sources, said at least 33 IS fighters and 23 of the town's Kurdish defenders were killed on Saturday.
IS began its advance on Kobane on September 16, seeking to cement its grip over a long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border.
The offensive prompted a mass exodus of residents from the town and surrounding countryside, with some 186,000 fleeing into Turkey.
The group has been accused of carrying out widespread atrocities, including attacks on civilians, mass executions, abductions, torture and forcing women into slavery.
