BAGHDAD — Islamic State fighters pressed their assault on two key towns in Syria and Iraq on Thursday as defenders on both fronts prepared for possible street-by-street battles and appealed for intensified U.S.-led airstrikes, reports and witnesses said.
The two showdowns — in the Euphrates River town of Hit in Iraq and the strategic Syrian crossroads of Kobane near the Turkish border — suggest that the Islamic State retains enough firepower and command structure to make continued gains despite weeks of airstrikes by Western and Arab nations.