IS kills 164 civilians in assault on Kobane

Beirut--

The Islamic State group killed 164 civilians in its offensive on the Kurdish town of Kobane, in what a monitor said yesterday was one of the jihadists' "worst massacres" in Syria.

The killing spree, which took place mostly inside Kobane itself, was widely seen as vengeance for a series of defeats inflicted on the jihadists by Kurdish militia in recent weeks.

At least 120 civilians were killed in a 24-hour rampage on Kobane, and another 26 were executed in a nearby village, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. 

The assault began on Thursday when three IS suicide bombers blew up vehicles at the entrances to the town, which has become a symbol of Kurdish resistance.

Women and children were among civilians whose bodies were found in their homes and in the streets, the Observatory said. 

"According to medical sources and Kobane residents, 120 civilians were executed by IS in their homes or killed by the group's rockets or snipers," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"When they entered the town, the jihadists took up positions in buildings at the southeast and southwest entrances, firing at everything that moved."

"Every family in Kobane lost a family member on Thursday," Kurdish activist Arin Shekhmos said.