US-led strikes hit IS 'near Turkey border'

Activists say the US-led coalition has struck targets of the Islamic State group near a besieged Kurdish town along Syria's border with Turkey.

It was not immediately clear if Tuesday's airstrikes succeeded in halting the militants' advance on Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.

The opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit Islamic State fighters east and west of Kobane.

The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, also confirmed the airstrikes on the town's outskirts.

Kobane has been under attack by the Islamic State group since mid-September.

Despite US-led airstrikes, the militants were able to advance toward the town over the past few days.

The Observatory said fighting around Kobane on Monday killed 57 fighters on both sides - the town's Kurdish defenders and the Islamic militants.