Fighters from Islamic State group shell northern Syrian town amid heavy clashes with Kurds

BEIRUT – Activists and a Kurdish official say fighters from the Islamic State group are shelling the northern Syrian town of Kobani, where they continue to fight Kurdish troops.

Idriss Nassan, a senior official in Kobani, said the Saturday fighting concentrated on the southern and eastern edges of the town, also known as Ayn Arab.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting concentrated on the eastern side of the town, surrounded on three sides by Islamic State fighters.

IS launched its offensive on Kobani in mid-September and captured dozens of villages before entering parts of the town.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Central Command said its forces conducted more than 135 airstrikes against the militants in and around Kobani, killing hundreds of IS fighters.