(VOVworld) - US-led airstrikes have killed "several hundred" jihadist fighters in and around Kobane, but the Islamic State might still capture the besieged Syrian town.

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobane after a US-led coalition strike seen from the Turkish-Syrian border on October 15, 2014 (Photo: AFP)

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday the airstrikes have weakened the IS but the jihadists continue to pour into the region in an attempt to take the town. Kirby added that there is no immediate threat to the security of Baghdad.
John Allen, a retired US general, said it is clear that the IS has made “substantial gains” in Iraq and it will take time to build up enough local forces to defeat them in Syria and Iraq.