U.S. air strikes just struck a major blow against the Islamic State

Kurdish fighters, U.S. air strikes just struck a major blow against the Islamic State

After a brutal four-month battle against the Islamic State group, jubilant Kurdish fighters ousted IS militants from the key Syrian border town of Kobani this week — a significant victory for both the Kurds and the U.S.-led coalition. + "The Kurds raised their flag on a hill that once flew the Islamic State group's black banner," the Associated Press reports. "On Kobani's war-ravaged streets, gunmen fired in the air in celebration, male and female fighters embraced and troops danced in their baggy uniforms." + The U.S. certainly stepped up to deprive the Islamic State of the foothold: Kobani has been the target of about a half-dozen daily coalition airstrikes on average, and more than 80% of all coalition airstrikes in Syria have been in or around the town. + Why does this small town matter? "The Kurdish recapture of Kobani in northern Syria appears to have provided a blueprint for defeating the Islamic State, bringing together U.S. air power with an effective ground force and protected routes for the movement of fighters and weaponry," the AP explains