Fevered efforts by ISIS to capture the embattled Syrian city of Kobani have handed U.S. and allied forces a prime opportunity to deal the extremist group a bloody nose , the U.S. Central Command 's top general told reporters Friday . By pouring what Gen. Lloyd Austin described as `` legions '' of fighters into the city , ISIS commanders have given allied warplanes numerous targets to attack . `` The more I attrit him there , '' Austin said of ISIS , using a common military term for grinding down an enemy 's power , `` the less I 'll have to fight him on some other part of the battlefield . '' The U.S. military carried out seven airstrikes in northern Syria and coalition aircraft carried out two more near Baiji , north of Tikrit in Iraq , the U.S. Central Command ( Centcom ) said on Friday . Six of the airstrikes occurred near Kobani , hitting and destroying ISIS buildings , positions , and vehicles , Centcom said . The seventh strike in Syria successfully struck an ISIS-controlled oil installation near Shadadi , a city between the provinces of Deir Ezzor and al-Hasaka in northeastern Syria , according to Centcom . U.S. fighter jets also flew at least 14 missions against ISIS targets near Kobani on Wednesday and Thursday , striking buildings , command posts , sniper positions and a staging location , according to Centcom . CNN has learned that the U.S. military for the first time is getting intelligence from Syrian Kurds about ISIS positions in and around Kobani , according to an administration official who confirmed the details , but declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information . This flow of intelligence for the last several days has led to increased and more precise airstrikes , according to the official . The strikes brought the number of missions flown against targets in the city to 129 , by CNN 's calculation , the most of any town in the three-week-old Syrian portion of the fight against ISIS . Austin said Friday that the increased number of airstrikes near Kobani are n't due to a change in attitudes , but rather the presence of so many ISIS targets as the group fights Syrian Kurdish fighters for control of the city . Despite apparent advances in recent days by Syrian Kurdish fighters defending Kobani , Austin warned that the city may yet fall . But he said recent successes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq are encouraging signs that the broad coalition effort to ultimately destroy the extremist group is beginning to bear fruit . `` The campaign is on the right track . We 're doing the right things , and we 're having the -- creating the right effects , '' he said . U.S. officials have said in recent weeks that it is not essential to keep Kobani from falling into ISIS hands . But retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Kimmitt told CNN on Friday that with the eyes of the world on the fight , Kobani holds psychological and public relations value that `` far outweighs the military victory to whichever side that wins . '' Intelligence sharing . The intelligence sharing between U.S. and Syrian Kurds in Kobani signifies an unprecedented level of U.S. military cooperation with operatives on the ground inside Syria . The intelligence operation is extremely sensitive and involves only a small number of Kurds , according to the administration official . Those involved are passing intelligence through their own contacts in Syria and Iraq , and then the information is handed over to U.S. military personnel in Irbil , Iraq , who are working on selecting targets for airstrikes , the administration official said . A number of recent airstrikes in and around Kobani have been highly precise . The Kurds are now able to pass information about the locations of ISIS fighters in the town , the administration official said . The Pentagon has declined to openly discuss the intelligence operation with the Syrian Kurds , and Austin did not address the issue at his briefing Friday .
U.S. Central Command : The United States is not at war with Islam. Syrian Kurds giving U.S. forces intelligence on ISIS positions , official says . ISIS ' focus on Kobani is helping U.S. , allies destroy the militant group , a general says . Gen. Lloyd Austin says Kobani still could fall , despite U.S. and allied efforts .