Militants from the Islamic State have reportedly withdrawn from some areas in the Syrian border town of Kobani amid air strikes from the U.S.-led multi-national coalition against them, according to the AFP.
Human Rights groups told the AFP that militants had abandoned posts in areas in the east and southwestern corners of the city.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters began to withdraw when several of their locations were hit by air attacks.
"Their rear positions were hit with strikes, causing casualties and damaging at least four of their vehicles," he said.
Tension has been palpable in the border town over the last several days.
IS militants first entered the city Monday night after almost a month of fighting near the Turkish/Syrian border. Earlier on Monday, Rooz Bahjat, a Kurdish intelligence officer stationed in the town, told the Atlantic he believed Kobani would fall to the extremist group within "the next 24 hours." International air strikes appeared to have little effect on the militant advance, he said, and Turkish troops had been seen withdrawing from their posts to avoid combat.
There were 9,000 ISIS fighters edging toward Kobani's borders bearing heavy weaponry and tanks. Already, at least one female Kurdish fighter had detonated a suicide blast after running out of amunition while surrounded by the militants. They were still losing ground, and Bahjat doubted the Kurds could defend the city on their own.
The militant's initial andvance toward the border city began in September spurred an estimated 186,000 people to flee thier countryside homes for safety over the Turkish border. Packed with new refugees, Bahjat estimated around 50,000 cvilians remained in Kobani.
Tuesday saw fierce clashes between Kurdish Pershmerga Forces and IS militants in the streets of the city, followed by more air strikes from the U.S.-coalition later that day.
As of Wednesday, the Observatory says at least 412 people were killed in initial fighting as militants first entered the city on Monday, but believed the real number could be much more. While IS fighters have withdrawn from several areas of the city, reports indicate they still have a presence in several eastern areas of the city.
