Islamic State fighters seized more than a third of the Syrian border town of Kobani, a monitoring group said Thursday, as U.S.-led airstrikes failed to halt their advance and Turkish forces looked on without intervening.
With Washington ruling out a ground operation in Syria, Turkey said it was unrealistic to expect it to mount a cross-border operation alone to relieve the mainly Kurdish town.
The U.S. military said Kurdish forces appeared to be holding out in the town, which lies within sight of Turkish territory, following new airstrikes in the area against a militant training camp and fighters.