MURSITPINAR, Turkey -- Intensified U.S.-led airstrikes and a determined Kurdish military force on the ground appear to have had some success in halting advances by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters on a strategic Kurdish town near Syria's border with Turkey -- at least for now.
On Wednesday, the Kurdish militiamen were fighting ferocious street battles with the Sunni extremists in Kobani and making advances on some fronts, hours after the U.S.-led coalition stepped up its aerial campaign.
In a surprising display of resilience, the Kurdish fighters have held out against the more experienced jihadists a month into the militants' offensive on the frontier town, hanging on to their territory against all expectations.
"People underestimate the power of determination," said Farhad Shami, a Kurdish activist in Kobani. "The Kurds have a cause and are prepared to die fighting for it."
They also have the advantage of fighting on familiar ground.