With ISIL in control of nearly half of Kobani, the US and its allies have dramatically stepped up air strikes in a campaign newly named “Inherent Resolve”.<br /><br />The coalition says it has bombed jihadist targets in and around the Syrian border town nearly 40 times in a two-day period – that is around triple the pace of last week.<br /><br />Elsewhere in Syria, President Assad’s air force is also said to be ramping up its strike rate against rebels. <br /><br />Opponents fear he is taking advantage of the US military action to crush other foes, including the “moderate opposition” that Washington backs.<br /><br />In Iraq, fears are focussed on ISIL’s increasing grip on Anbar province and on Baghdad, with the militants just 40 kilometres from the capital.<br /><br />The Iraqi Defence Ministry has released pictures of its army using new rocket launchers. But it is becoming increasingly clear that it will take a lot more than this – and coalition air strikes – to stop the extremists.
