If true, this is encouraging news:
The Islamic State militant group has been driven out of most of the northern Syrian town of Kobane, a Kurdish commander tells the BBC.
Baharin Kandal said Islamic State (IS) fighters had retreated from all areas of the border town, except for two pockets of resistance in the east.
US-led air strikes had helped push back the militants, she added.
It comes as the new UN commissioner for human rights described IS as a “potentially genocidal” movement.
Baharin Kandal, who commands Kurds fighting in east Kobane, said in a phone interview with the BBC’s Kasra Naji that she hoped the city would be liberated soon.
Aside from the hopeful news that the Islamic State is losing control of Kobane, the best part about this is the “she.” Let’s hope that the IS fighters who think women are subordinate creatures and theirs for the taking are made fully aware that they are being beaten back in large part by a female commander and female soldiers.
So how will the likes of John Rees and others on the Left– who have proclaimed their solidarity with the Kurds while denouncing the airstrikes that are helping them– square this particular circle?
And will the Obama-bashers on the Right– who reflexively accuse the president of wimping out in the battle against Islamist extremism– acknowledge that the airstrikes he approved are making a real difference?
And once again, the Turkish government has thoroughly discredited itself by refusing to allow Kurdish fighters across the border into Syria and instead choosing this of all moments to bomb the PKK.
