The US-led coalition has launched at least five more airstrikes on Islamic State positions in the town. Turkish troops and tanks have lined the border but have not crossed into Syria.

Islamic State wants to take Kobane in order to strengthen its grip on the border area and consolidate the territorial gains it has made in Iraq and Syria in recent months, Reuters reports.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said bombing was not enough to defeat Islamic State and he set out Turkey’s demands for additional measures before it could intervene.

“The problem of (Islamic State) cannot be solved via air bombardment,” he said. “Right now … Kobane is about to fall,” he said during a visit to a camp for Syrian refugees.

“We had warned the West. We wanted three things. No-fly zone, a secure zone parallel to that, and the training of moderate Syrian rebels,” he said.

He said Turkey would take action if there were threats to its soldiers guarding a historic site in Syria that Ankara regards as its territory.