The nondescript town of Kobani caught global attention after Islamic State jihadists wreaked havoc on its streets and hoisted a black flag on a hill nearby in mid-September.
After a four-month long trying battle, the Kurds with help of the United States finally wrested control of Syria’s border town from the IS militants.
Free from the clutches of the IS, the city now lies in ruins. The water system has been destroyed and corpses of jihadists are scattered all over, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Pictures from post-war Kobani narrate a telling tale.
Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units walk past damaged buildings in northern Syria's Kobani.
Sheets meant to shield residents from the snipers' sights still hang over the streets of this Syrian border town, and its shattered buildings and cratered roads suggest those who fled are unlikely to return any time soon. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
Fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units stand at a damaged building in Kobani. Kurdish forces said this week they had taken full control of Kobani, a mainly Kurdish town near the Turkish border, after months of bombardment by Islamic State. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
Kurdish men stand next to a damaged car of Kobani.
Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds said they had taken full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle. Known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, the mainly Kurdish town close to the Turkish border has become a focal point in the international fight against the IS. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units sits in an armoured vehicle in Kobani. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
A man walks past damaged buildings in the northern Syrian town. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
A general view shows damaged buildings in Kobani. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
A man walks in a street with abandoned vehicles and damaged buildings. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters
