Iraq forces stop ISIS advance in Amariya al-Falluja

Iraqi air strikes and ground forces appear to have halted the advance of Islamic State (ISIS) militants in the town of Amariya al-Falluja, west of Baghdad.

The air strikes followed clashes with ISIS militants, who have been making gains towards the capital.

Amariya al-Falluja, 25 miles from Baghdad, is a key strategic town.

It comes as a US-led coalition continues to carry out air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.

The area around Amariya al-Falluja is now said to be calm, but there is a standoff along the main road to Falluja to the north, which is controlled by ISIS.

US aircraft also attacked other ISIS positions in Anbar province overnight, the Pentagon said.

Meanwhile, Turkish tanks have taken up positions on a hill along the border near the Syrian town of Kobane after several shells hit Turkish territory during clashes between ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria, said ISIS fighters were now within 3 miles of Kobane, the closest they have come since launching an offensive this month.

The jihadists also fired at least 15 rockets at the town centre, killing at least one person, it added.

Overnight, there were US-led air strikes on ISIS-controlled towns and villages in northern and eastern Syria.

One raid on a grain silo in Manbij, in Aleppo province, left several civilians dead, the Syrian Observatory’s director Rami Abdul Rahman reported.

The entrance to the Conoco gas plant, Syria’s largest, was also reportedly hit. The facility itself was not thought to be damaged.

In a television interview on September 28, President Barack Obama candidly admitted the US had “underestimated” the threat of IS.

Barack Obama said a political solution – one that would arise out of an accommodation between Sunni and Shia populations – was key to defeating the jihadists.