Kurdish fighters managed to halt the thrust of Islamic State militants in a pre-dawn attack after the jihadists cad captured their headquarters on Friday. There were fears that the fall of Kobane would cut off the last escape route to neighboring Turkey.

U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Nagel said that escalated U.S.-led strikes had made progress at still occupied areas on the town’s outskirts. The strikes on IS targets in Kobane had helped the Kurdish fighters regain some territory, but the town’s Kurdish defenders say that they are outgunned on ground offensives.

“The air strikes are benefiting us but the IS is bringing tanks and artillery from the east,” said Kobane’s defence council chief Esmat Al-Sheikh.

A delegation of monitors in the area said that the Kurdish forces in Kobane are doomed to defeat if Turkey doesn’t open its borders to let through arms. Turkey has so far shown a reluctance to do this.

At least 553 people are believed to have died fighting for Kobane. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based Syrian opposition body that monitors the conflict said 298 IS fighters were among the total death figures.

A Kobane combat-video filmed by IS jihadists entering Kobane –

Pro-Kurdish rallies have been held around the world, including one with at least 20,000 Kurds living in Germany who marched in the city of Dusseldorf on Saturday to highlight the threats in their area.