Kurdish militia are fighting to hold off Islamic State jihadists in the battleground Syrian border town of Kobani.
Kobani has become a highly visible symbol of resistance to IS and its fall would give the jihadists control of a long stretch of the Turkey-Syria border.
But concern has also been growing over Iraq, where IS fighters have been threatening to seize more territory.
October 6
Kurdish fighters found limited success in repelling the Islamic State militants, and that up to 20 jihadists have been killed.
It's unclear if IS fighters managed to make their way into the town, but witnesses said they saw men raising a flag similar to that used by Islamic State.
Their assault appeared to be the first time IS fighters had entered Kobani since their advance on it began nearly three weeks ago.
October 6, 2014: Two ISIS black flags were seen flying over the eastern side of Kobani as militants penetrated the key Syrian town. (SBS)
October 10
US-led warplanes have intensified air strikes against IS fighters who have been closing on the town for three weeks, but the Pentagon has warned that without a force on the ground to work with, there are limits to what can be done.
October 10, 2014: US-led warplanes intensify air strikes against ISIS fighters. Kurdish militia fight to hold off Islamic State jihadists. (SBS)
October 14
Jihadists have fought their way into central Kobani in heavy clashes with the Syrian border town's Kurdish defenders, ahead of a Washington meeting of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.
The breakthrough on Monday gave IS half of Kobani, nearly a month after the Sunni extremists began their assault on the town on the Turkish frontier, despite more than three weeks of US-led air strikes in Syria aimed at stopping them.
October 14, 2014: The Kurds claim to have pushed ISIS back in parts of Kobani. Hundreds of jihadists reportedly killed. (SBS)
October 17
Kurdish fighters backed by a flurry of US-led air strikes are still holding out against jihadists in Kobani, as an Islamic State offensive on the Syrian border town entered its second month.
IS militants have also been beaten back this week from Amriyat al-Fallujah, a key city just west of Baghdad, but the US military denied the Iraqi capital was in "imminent" danger.
The Kurds claimed to have pushed IS back in parts of Kobani, but the Pentagon warned that the multinational strikes may not prevent the town's fall even though hundreds of jihadists are thought to have been killed.
An estimated 200,000 mainly Kurdish Syrians have fled the IS onslaught for the relative safety of Turkey.
October 17, 2014: Kurdish fighters backed by a flurry of US-led air strikes still hold out against jihadists in Kobani, as an Islamic State offensive on the Syrian border town enters its second month. (SBS)
October 20
Turkey says it is assisting Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga to cross its border and join the battle against militants for the Syrian town of Kobani.
Turkey says it has no desire to see Kobani fall to the self-proclaimed Islamic State which has been battling Syrian Kurdish fighters for the town for more than a month.
It comes as the US military began dropping weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to the Syrian Kurdish fighters battling the IS.
October 20: Turkey assists Iraqi Kurdish Peshmega to cross its border and join the battla against militants for Kobani. (Image: SBS)
October 30
A convoy of 50-60 vehicles, buses carrying Peshmerga soldiers and vehicles towing canons has left the Iraqi city of Erbil to cross the border into Turkey.
The town of Kobani on the Turkish border has become a crucial front in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Syrian Kurds have battled fighters of IS in and around Kobani since mid-September. Despite US-led air strikes supporting the Kurds, IS has kept up its assault.
A convoy of 50-60 vehicles, buses carrying Peshmerga soldiers and vehicles towing canons has left the Iraqi city of Erbil to cross the border into Turkey. October 30, 2014. (SBS)
November 15
(SBS)
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