Islamic State 'being driven out of Syria's Kobane'

The battle for Kobane is regarded as a major test of whether the US-led air campaign can push back IS

The Islamic State militant group has been driven out of most of the northern Syrian town of Kobane, a Kurdish commander tells the BBC. 

Baharin Kandal said Islamic State (IS) fighters had retreated from all areas of the border town, except for two pockets of resistance in the east.

US-led air strikes had helped push back the militants, she added. It comes as the new UN commissioner for human rights described IS as a "potentially genocidal" movement.

Baharin Kandal, who commands Kurds fighting in east Kobane, said in a phone interview with the BBC's Kasra Naji that she hoped the city would be liberated soon.

Ms Kandal said her militia group had been receiving arms, supplies and fighters but she refused to say how, our correspondent on the Turkish border near Kobane says.

The battle for Kobane, which is also known as Ayn al-Arab, is regarded as a major test of whether the US-led coalition's air campaign can push back IS.

The predominantly Kurdish town is close to Syria's border with Turkey. 'Diabolical' Meanwhile, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the new UN human rights commissioner, described IS as the antithesis of human rights and "a diabolical, potentially genocidal movement".

Activists say more than 600 people have been killed since the jihadist group launched its assault on the strategic town of Kobane a month ago.

IS fighters, who have seized large areas in Syria and Iraq, have gained a reputation for brutal tactics, including mass killings and beheading of soldiers and journalists.