ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Plumes of smoke rose in the air in the border region around Kobani on Monday (November 17) as a U.S.-led coalition launched more air strikes against Islamic State targets following a morning of relative calm.<br/> <br />Loud explosions were heard on the Turkish border with Syria as clouds of smoke filled the sky over the embattled town.<br/> <br />Kobani has been encircled by the Sunni Muslim insurgents for more than 50 days. Weeks of U.S.-led air strikes have failed to break their stranglehold, and Kurds are hoping the arrival of the peshmerga, welcomed by Washington, will turn the tide.<br/> <br />The battle for Kobani - known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab - has become a test of the U.S.-led coalition's ability to stop Islamic State's advance.
