Caption:SANLIURFA, TURKEY - OCTOBER 18: (TURKEY OUT) Heavy smoke rises following an airstrike by the US-led coalition in Kobani, Syria, during fighting between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State group, as seen from the outskirts of Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border, October 18, 2014. Kurdish fighters in Syrian city of Kobani have pushed back Islamic State militants in a number of locations as U.S. airstrikes on ISIS positions continue in and around the city. Since mid-September more than 200,000 people from Kobani flee into Turkey. (Photo by Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images)
60 bombs hit Kobani over 4 days
02:15 - Source: CNN

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Syrian Observatory says ISIS bodies dropped at hospital in town controlled by ISIS

Kurdish and Iraqi forces battle ISIS for control of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border

Brief calm in Kobani punctuated by sounds of gunfire

CNN  — 

ISIS has apparently taken a heavy hit over the past several days. The bodies of at least 70 fighters for the terror group have been dropped off over four days at a hospital in the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, a Syrian opposition group told CNN. Tal Abyad is on the Turkish border and about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Raqqa.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria took control of Raqqa last year. ISIS uses the once-liberal city as a kind of headquarters where it applies its hardline interpretation of Islamic law, terrorizing the population.

Kurdish and Iraqi forces have been battling ISIS on the ground. With the help of airstrikes from an international coalition led by the United States, the foot soldiers are now focused on pushing ISIS back from its relentless attempt to take Kobani, a Kurdish town on the Syrian-Turkish border.

It’s unclear who dropped the bodies of the ISIS fighters off at the hospital, but it was likely other fighters from the militant group, because they control Tal Abyad.

Lead Paton Walsh ISIS air force _00005303.jpg
Lead Paton Walsh ISIS air force _00005303.jpg
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An ISIS air force?

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Wounded passengers are treated following a suicide bombing at Brussels Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. Georgian journalist Ketevan Kardava, special correspondent for the Georgian Public Broadcaster, was travelling to Geneva when the attack took place, she was knocked to the floor and began to take photographs in the moments that followed. At least 31 people were killed and more than 260 injured in a twin suicide blast at Zaventem Airport and a further bomb attack at Maelbeek Metro Station. Two brothers are thought to have carried out the attacks and a manhunt is underway for a third suspect. (Photo by Ketevan Kardava/Getty Images)
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MARCH 22: Wounded passengers are treated following a suicide bombing at Brussels Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. Georgian journalist Ketevan Kardava, special correspondent for the Georgian Public Broadcaster, was travelling to Geneva when the attack took place, she was knocked to the floor and began to take photographs in the moments that followed. At least 31 people were killed and more than 260 injured in a twin suicide blast at Zaventem Airport and a further bomb attack at Maelbeek Metro Station. Two brothers are thought to have carried out the attacks and a manhunt is underway for a third suspect. (Photo by Ketevan Kardava/Getty Images)
Ketevan Kardava/Getty Images
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The ISIS terror threat

Sources who work in local medicine confirmed the events to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that promotes ending the longstanding regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The group is based in London and first formed when violence broke out in Syria in 2011, much of it geared toward ousting al-Assad.

Kobani now is the scene of an unrelenting battle. On Sunday, the brief moments of calm were punctuated by sounds of firing from both sides. ISIS has shelled the city at least 16 times, sources say, while coalition planes fly low overhead.

The strategy against ISIS is working, said U.S. Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin on Friday. He also said that Kobani could fall.

U.S. warplanes struck only twice Friday and Saturday in the city, Central Command said, both times targeting ISIS fighting positions. That’s far fewer strikes than days before. U.S. jets flew at least 14 missions near Kobani on Thursday and Friday, the military reported.

It will take “strategic patience” to beat ISIS, Austin said.

The U.S. has generally downplayed the importance of Kobani as a key city in the battle against the militants.

U.S. military: Airstrikes alone won’t save Kobani

However, if ISIS takes Kobani, that would mean it would control land between Raqqa and Turkey – about 100 kilometers (60 miles).

CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this report.