Death toll from Islamic State's attack on Kobani rises to 223

GlobalPost

The death toll from a brutal massacre by the Islamic State in the Syrian town of Kobani and the surrounding area has risen to 223 people, mostly civilians, according to a monitoring group

The border town was hit by a coordinated assault on June 25, which began when three suicide bombers driving cars detonated their explosives at different entrances to the town. Islamic State (IS) fighters then reportedly went from house to house, executing civilians and capturing others. 

When IS fighters were finally repelled by Syrian Kurdish fighters, the bodies of 26 women and children were among the dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group with contacts throughout Syria.

“The body of one child bore the impact of five bullets,” it said, adding that many had been shot at close range.

An estimated 79 of the 100 IS fighters involved in the attack were killed, as well as more than 20 anti-IS fighters in the city.

“The terrorists committed worst crimes against humanity by killing unarmed children, women and the elderly; capturing tens of civilians at the same time,” said a statement from the People's Protection Units, a Syrian Kurdish militia which is known by its acronym YPG.

“Along this assault inside the city, the terrorists in the south, southwest and west of Kobani attempted to take position in the countryside of the city by numerous quick attacks,” the statement said, reporting a higher death count of 233.

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