Allied forces slow IS attempts to capture key town

Smoke billowed over the key Syrian border town of Kobane on Sunday as Kurdish fighters supported by US-led airstrikes battled to hold back intensified attacks by Islamic State jihadists.

IS fighters seized part of a strategic hill overlooking the town late on Saturday, a monitor said, but their progress was slowed by new strikes from the coalition of Washington and Arab allies.

The dusty town on the Turkish border has become a crucial battleground in the international fight against IS, which sparked further outrage this weekend with the release of a video showing the beheading of Briton Alan Henning.