Islamic State raises flag in Syrian border town as battle rages

Islamic State raised its flag on a building on the outskirts of the Syrian frontier town of Kobani yesterday after an assault of almost three weeks, but the town's Kurdish defenders said its fighters had not reached the city centre.

A black Islamic State flag was visible from across the Turkish border atop a four-storey building close to the scene of some of the most intense clashes in recent days.

The radical al-Qaeda offshoot has been battling to seize the predominantly Kurdish town after taking over large swathes of territory in northern Syria and Iraq in recent months.

Air strikes by American and Gulf state warplanes have failed to halt its advance on Kobani, which it has besieged from three sides and pounded with heavy artillery.

Local sources inside Kobani confirmed that the group, formerly known as ISIL, had planted its flag, but said Kurdish forces had repelled its advances so far.

On Sunday, one female Kurdish fighter blew herself up rather than be captured by Islamic State after running out of ammunition, local sources and a monitoring group reported.