Syria Kurds control 70 percent of besieged Kobani - monitor

Military vehicles of Kurdish security forces are seen at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, December 21, 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kurdish forces have regained control of around 70 percent of the Syrian town of Kobani near the Turkish border after pushing back Islamic State fighters that have spent months besieging it, a group monitoring the war said on Wednesday.

Backed by U.S-led air strikes, Kurdish forces made significant advances overnight on Tuesday after violent clashes with Islamic State in the south of the town, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.