BEIRUT (AP) — Kurdish forces continue to battle Islamic State group fighters for control of a Syrian town near the Turkish border.

Yesterday, the Kurdish force known as the People's Protection Units, or YPK, repelled a wide-ranging jihadist assault. However, a black banner with Arabic writing can be seen today flying over a building at the eastern entrance to Kobani, indicating that the jihadists may have regrouped and broken through the Kurdish lines.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a statement from the YPK says yesterday's battles near the town killed more than 45 fighters on both sides, including a female Kurdish fighter who blew herself up, killing several jihadists.

Kobani and surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with Islamic State militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages. The assault has forced some 160,000 Syrians to flee.

On the Turkish side of the border, at least 14 Turkish army tanks have taken up defensive positions on a hilltop near Kobani.

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