kobani

Mere days ago, militants with the self-declared Islamic State had captured the town for the second time this year.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls it a massacre and the worst such incident carried out by ISIS fighters since last year.

The battle began with one or more car bombs set off inside the Syrian city. There are unconfirmed reports that Islamic State fighters hid themselves among refugees flooding into Kobani.

For the first time, the extremist group acknowledges its defeat earlier this week in the heavily contested Syrian border town.

The remarks by the country's foreign minister could signal a shift in Ankara's largely neutral stance on the conflict at its doorstep.

In an effort assist Kurdish forces in the Syrian border town, the U.S. military said Sunday the dropped supplies were meant to help resistance to Islamic State efforts to control Kobani.