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Turkish riot policemen lift their shields to block the view of journalists as a convoy of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga leaves a compound at the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, October 31, 2014. A convoy of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces in Turkey headed on Friday towards the Syrian border where they were expected to help push back Islamic State insurgents encircling the mainly Kurdish border town of Kobani, a Reuters witness said. Image Credit: REUTERS

Beirut: At least 100 militants from Daesh have been killed in three days of fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobani, a monitor said on Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths brought the total number of Daesh fighters killed in the ground battle for Kobani to 576 since clashes there began on September 16.

“Over the last three days, at least 100 members of Daesh and its religious police have been killed... in Kobani and its surroundings,” the Britain-based group said.

It said the Daesh members had come from Aleppo and Raqqa provinces to take part in the battle for the town, which is being defended by members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG.

The group also said 15 YPG fighters had been killed in clashes in Kobani on Friday, and another 11 militants died in air strikes by a US-led coalition in both Kobani and Raqqa province.

Overall, 958 people have been killed in the battle for Kobani — 576 Daesh militants, 361 YPG fighters and allied forces and 21 civilians, according to the Observatory.

More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict since it began in March 2011, says the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports.