Six months ago Kobane was a city in panic as the Kurds were desperately fleeing ISIS forces as they bared down on the border town , fearful that they would be slaughtered like the Yazidis before them if the settlement was overrun by the fanatical jihadis . Now the terrorists have gone , beaten back into the desert by Kurdish forces and coalition airstrikes , and the residents can return to their 'saved ' city . But , as these images show , not a lot of the home they remember is still standing . Tanks rust in the streets , buildings reduced to mere shells after bombings serve as temporary shelter for those who survived , while a little girl is reduced to lighting a fire underneath a piece of rubble in the street to keep warm . A sign which once proudly displayed the town 's name now stands riddled with bullet holes , like the few buildings left standing around it . The battle for Kobane was the fiercest and most bloody battle of the war against ISIS to date , and represented the group 's first major defeat after months of virtually unopposed victories which saw them take swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria . At one point things looked so bad that Turkish President Recep Erdogan declared the city was only hours away from completely falling into ISIS ' bloodstained hands . Victory was secured at the end of January after the last ISIS fighters were forced from the city 's suburbs and into their strongholds along the Euphrates River . Civilians forced to flee across the border into Turkey are now returning home . Scroll down for video . Shell : The rusting remains of a tank sit along the side of a street in the border town of Kobane , just over a month after ISIS fighters were forced out of the city after months of fighting with Kurdish ground forces and bombing runs by coalition warplanes . Ruined : Virtually none of the buildings in the city were left untouched by the battle , which raged for six months , and marks the bloodiest and fiercest fight in the war against ISIS to date . The residents who survived or have returned are now faced with living in conditions like this . Pride : A Syrian Kurdish woman sweeps rubble out of what is left of her home after ISIS fighters fled the city of Kobane . The fighting here lasted for four months , and has left the city in ruins . Making the most of it : Just six months ago this Kurdish boy , along with thousands of other Kurds , were desperately fleeing Kobane , fearful they would be slaughtered if the city was overrun . Now they can return , but little of their previous home remains . Desperate : With little or no access to water and electricity , this young girl is forced to light a fire underneath rubble in the street to keep warm and cook her food . Shattered : A Kobane sign riddled with bullets and shrapnel marks mirrors the condition of the few building that are left standing around it . Homecoming : After four months of fierce fighting the Kurds , who were facing near extinction at the hands of ISIS , are able to return to what is left of their home town and begin rebuilding it . Flattened : A girl rides in a trailer being towed into Kobane by tractor as rows of levelled houses can be seen in the background . The city was heavily bombed by coalition warplanes during six months of fighting in order to dislodge ISIS troops taking cover there . All gone : A Kurdish man looks out over the destroyed city of Kobane from the balcony of his bullet-riddled home , just over a month after the last ISIS fighters fled for their strongholds along the Euphrates River . Littered : A woman stands among the ruins of her old home , as the streets around her are scattered with rubble , clothes , and ruined cars . Destroyed : The remains of another tank are testament to the ferocity of the fighting in Kobane . Against all the odds , Kurdish forces which were at one point pinned in the centre of the city , managed to fight their way out and claim victory . Nothing left : A man holding a rolled up cigarette and clutching a glass of drink stands among the ruins of his house . At one point the situation here was so dire the Turkish Prime Minister warned the city was hours from falling into ISIS hands . All he has left : A Kurdish man walks back into his home after six months spent hiding from ISIS across the border in Turkey . On his back he carries everything he owns wrapped into a rug . Back to business : A baker goes back to work amid the shattered remain of Kobane as residents go about trying to rebuild their previous lives . What remains : A Kurdish boy walks down the stairwell of his home in Kobane , littered with rubble and a keyboard . ISIS fighters have previously been videoed destroying the instruments for being 'un-Islamic '
In September last year the city of acre fled as residents fled for their lives ahead of a huge ISIS raid . Four months of fighting saw fierce gun battles rage along the city 's streets while warplanes bombed it from the air . Residents are returning after ISIS troops fled in January , but as these reports show , little of their identity remains .