The key Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane might fall to Islamic State (IS) fighters soon, an official there has told the BBC.
A flag of Islamic State has been seen flying over a building on the eastern edge of Kobane.
The official, Idriss Nassan, confirmed IS was now in control of Mistenur, the strategic hill above the town.
Kobane has seen intense fighting over the past three days as Syrian Kurds try to defend the town.
The IS militants have been besieging it for nearly three weeks. Since then, more than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border.
Capturing the town would give IS unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed to protect Turkey, a member state, saying: "Turkey should know that Nato will be there if there is any spillover, any attacks on Turkey as a consequence of the violence we see in Syria."
There's just something wrong with that - we'll be there for Turkey even though Turkey is watching the fall of Kobane and doing nothing to stop it.
Thousands of civilians
The BBC's Paul Adams, near the border, says the sound of gunfire overnight was intense and is still going on, with large plumes of smoke over Kobane.
Adams says the situation appears critical for the defenders of the town.
Mr Nassan told the BBC there were still thousands of civilians in Kobane.
He said IS was now in control of Mistenur and that, in theory, gave the attackers a huge strategic advantage. But Mr Nassan said IS was not yet firing down into the town from the hill.
He said there was shelling in all parts of Kobane, adding: "Yes, it will certainly fall soon."
Mr Nassan could not say how long this would take, but added: "I'm not going to give up my home and my country easily."
Esmat al-Sheikh, head of the Kobane Defence Authority, told Reuters news agency: "If they enter, it will be a graveyard for us and for them. We either win or die. We will resist to the end."
On Sunday a Kurdish woman in Kobane killed a number of IS fighters in a suicide bomb attack, Kurdish sources said.
Turkish Kurds and refugees have clashed with Turkish security forces on the border for the past two days.
They are angry and disappointed at Turkey's perceived inaction over IS in recent months, as well as its refusal to allow them to cross into Syria to fight.
Last week, Turkey pledged to prevent Kobane from falling to the militants and its parliament authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria.
But it appears to have taken no action so far to prevent the fighting.
Correspondents says Turkey is reluctant to lend support to the Kurdish forces in the town because they are allied to the PKK, banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.
So there you have it! Erdogan is completely ignoring his own parliament by withholding his troops from defending Kobane. Erdogan wants the Kurd problem to go away. Allowing IS to massacre the Kurdish defence forces works for him. He seems unconcerned about having IS control a large section of the Syria-Turkey border. That's very strange, indeed!
As mentioned yesterday, the blood of Kurdish genocide in Kobane will be on the hands of Tayyip Erdogan.
KOBANE KEY FACTS:
Kobane, known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab, and the villages surrounding it were home to about 400,000 people, most of them Kurds
Kurdish parties have governed the area since the Syrian army withdrew two years ago
In the first half of 2013, IS seized control of neighbouring areas, leaving Kobane surrounded on three sides
IS launched a major offensive on 16 September, prompting more than 100,000 people to flee to Turkey
A flag of Islamic State has been seen flying over a building on the eastern edge of Kobane.
The official, Idriss Nassan, confirmed IS was now in control of Mistenur, the strategic hill above the town.
 |
| IS flag on hill over Kobane as the IS fighters take high ground, 6 Oct |
The IS militants have been besieging it for nearly three weeks. Since then, more than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border.
 |
| More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border. |
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed to protect Turkey, a member state, saying: "Turkey should know that Nato will be there if there is any spillover, any attacks on Turkey as a consequence of the violence we see in Syria."
There's just something wrong with that - we'll be there for Turkey even though Turkey is watching the fall of Kobane and doing nothing to stop it.
Thousands of civilians
The BBC's Paul Adams, near the border, says the sound of gunfire overnight was intense and is still going on, with large plumes of smoke over Kobane.
 |
| Turkish tanks watch the battle from their side of the border |
Mr Nassan told the BBC there were still thousands of civilians in Kobane.
He said IS was now in control of Mistenur and that, in theory, gave the attackers a huge strategic advantage. But Mr Nassan said IS was not yet firing down into the town from the hill.
He said there was shelling in all parts of Kobane, adding: "Yes, it will certainly fall soon."
Mr Nassan could not say how long this would take, but added: "I'm not going to give up my home and my country easily."
Esmat al-Sheikh, head of the Kobane Defence Authority, told Reuters news agency: "If they enter, it will be a graveyard for us and for them. We either win or die. We will resist to the end."
On Sunday a Kurdish woman in Kobane killed a number of IS fighters in a suicide bomb attack, Kurdish sources said.
Turkish Kurds and refugees have clashed with Turkish security forces on the border for the past two days.
 |
| Kurds angry with Turkey's role have clashed with Turkish forces |
Last week, Turkey pledged to prevent Kobane from falling to the militants and its parliament authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria.
But it appears to have taken no action so far to prevent the fighting.
Correspondents says Turkey is reluctant to lend support to the Kurdish forces in the town because they are allied to the PKK, banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.
So there you have it! Erdogan is completely ignoring his own parliament by withholding his troops from defending Kobane. Erdogan wants the Kurd problem to go away. Allowing IS to massacre the Kurdish defence forces works for him. He seems unconcerned about having IS control a large section of the Syria-Turkey border. That's very strange, indeed!
As mentioned yesterday, the blood of Kurdish genocide in Kobane will be on the hands of Tayyip Erdogan.
KOBANE KEY FACTS:
Kobane, known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab, and the villages surrounding it were home to about 400,000 people, most of them Kurds
Kurdish parties have governed the area since the Syrian army withdrew two years ago
In the first half of 2013, IS seized control of neighbouring areas, leaving Kobane surrounded on three sides
IS launched a major offensive on 16 September, prompting more than 100,000 people to flee to Turkey
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