BEIRUT, Lebanon — Kurdish militias regained full control of the northern Syrian town of Kobani on Monday, driving Islamic State militants out with the help of American-led airstrikes, Kurdish activists on the scene said.
The bitter three-month battle for the border town took on outsize symbolic significance as it unfolded within sight of the Turkish border. It became the most visible arena in the American-led coalition’s fight against the Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq, and the militant group’s retreat dented the aura of invincibility it has sought to cultivate.
But even as the Kurds celebrated, some activists said clearing the town was no great victory, given that it took more than 700 airstrikes to do it — nearly three-quarters of all the coalition’s strikes in Syria so far — and that Kobani was a relatively minor border city with a prewar population of 45,000.
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Supporters of the Islamic State claimed on social media that the withdrawal from Kobani was merely a decision to send its fighters to more important fronts.
Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Karam Shoumali from Istanbul. Reporting was contributed by Eric Schmitt from Washington, and Mohammad Ghannam from Beirut.
A version of this article appears in print on January 27, 2015, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Kurd Militia Says ISIS Is Expelled From Kobani. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
