More than 1,000 killed, mostly ISIS militants, in battle for Syria's Kobane: monitor

An explosion following an air strike is seen in central Kobane on Nov 9, 2014. More than 1,000 people, mostly extremists, have been killed in Kobane since the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched an offensive on the Syrian border town
An explosion following an air strike is seen in central Kobane on Nov 9, 2014. More than 1,000 people, mostly extremists, have been killed in Kobane since the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched an offensive on the Syrian border town nearly two months ago, a monitor said on Sunday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIRUT (AFP) - More than 1,000 people, mostly extremists, have been killed in Kobane since the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched an offensive on the Syrian border town nearly two months ago, a monitor said on Sunday.

ISIS militants, who proclaimed a "caliphate" in June straddling territory captured in Iraq and Syria, launched their offensive for the town - also known as Ain al-Arab - in mid-September.

"At least 1,013 people have been killed in fighting in Ain al-Arab from the beginning of the offensive till last night," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Militants from the Sunni extremist ISIS group accounted for 609 of those killed in the Kurdish town on the Turkish border, he said.

Another 363 of those killed were members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), 16 were Kurdish volunteers, and one was a Syrian Arab fighter who had joined the ranks of the Kurds.

There were 24 civilians among the dead, said the director of the Britain-based group which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its information.

The toll for ISIS excludes those killed in US-led strikes on the group.

Syrian Kurdish forces have been battling to repel ISIS militants from Kobane since September 16.

The fighters from the town have been joined by Syrian rebels who have fought both President Bashar al-Assad's regime and ISIS, as well as by Iraqi Kurd peshmerga forces.

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