U.S. airstrikes "are not going to save" the key Syrian city of Kobani from being overtaken by ISIS, said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby. "I think we all should be steeling ourselves for that eventuality," he told reporters in a daily briefing Wednesday. "We are doing everything we can to halt" ISIS' progress against the town, but airstrikes alone cannot stop the Islamist militants, Kirby added. "We've been very honest about the limits of air power here. The ground forces that matter the most are indigenous ground forces, and we don't have a willing, capable, effective partner on the ground inside Syria right now -- it's just a fact," he said.
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A U.S.-led coalition conducts nine airstrikes in Syria; three in Iraq
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ISIS claims to down an Iraqi military helicopter
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Air campaign alone won't defeat ISIS, former British official tells CNN
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U.S. officials: Main goal is to go after leadership and infrastructure, not save cities
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The greater @placeholder strategy, Kirby said, is to degrade ISIS' ability to sustain itself.
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A truck bomb driven by @placeholder exploded near the center of Kobani.
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The most recent strikes, late Tuesday into Wednesday, included nine in @placeholder, the U.S. military said.
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The most recent strikes, late Tuesday into Wednesday, included nine in Syria, the @placeholder military said.
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More than 400 people have been killed in the fight for @placeholder since mid-September, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.