Islamic State crisis: Coalition's Syria strikes 'kill 553'

US-led air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria have killed 553 people since September, UK-based activists say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 464 IS fighters, 57 other militants and 32 civilians have died.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting resumed in the town of Kobane, where militants and Kurdish forces battling for control.

Kurdish sources told BBC Arabic that IS had retaken a strategically important hilltop 4km west of the town.

Kurdish forces fighting IS in Kobane took Tal Shair nine days ago.

Reports also suggest IS fighters have been shelling Kurdish positions and attacking the town centre.

Syrian Kurdish sources told the BBC that IS fighters launched intensive attacks on Wednesday night from the southern and eastern parts of the city, in an apparent attempt to get access to the city centre.

The fighting resumed on Thursday morning after a brief calm, the sources added.

Control of the hilltop, Tal Shair, has flipped between Syrian Kurdish fighters and IS militants in recent days. Kurds last captured the hill - close to the border with Turkey - from IS on 14 October.

Analysts say whoever controls the hill has a much better chance of controlling Kobane, a Syrian Kurdish town right up against the border.

Seizing Kobane would give IS full control of a long stretch of Syrian territory along the border.

The IS advance in Syria takes place against the backdrop of the civil war. US-led air strikes are being conducted there without the explicit permission of President Bashar al-Assad, who the West wants to relinquish power.

BBC