ISIS set to capture Kobani, finish major land grab

Turkish-Syrian border (CNN) -- Intense street fighting raged in the Syrian city of Kobani Monday as ISIS came closer to capturing a key area on the border with Turkey.

ISIS fighters planted their flag on a hill on the eastern side of Kobani, then punched through defenses to open up the route for more troops, one witness inside the city told CNN.

CNN crews on Monday also spotted what appeared to be the black flag of ISIS flying from a hilltop on the eastern side of the city. The flag was farther east into the city from one shown flying atop a building in video from Reuters and also seen by the CNN crew.

Many Kurdish forces defending the city were wounded and killed, and many ISIS fighters were also killed as clashes spread from street to street, the witness said.

The fall of the city would carry huge symbolic and strategic weight, giving ISIS sway over an uninterrupted swatch of land between the Turkish border and its self-declared capital in Raqqa, Syria, 100 kilometers (62 miles) away.

The Turkish military, which has bulked up its defenses along the border in recent days as the fighting has flared, blocked people fleeing the embattled city from crossing the border.

"We want to go across!" would-be refugees chanted as they pressed against a border fence.

One witness inside Kobani told CNN he'd been waiting to leave the city with hundreds of others since Sunday night.

"We'll get killed if we stay," he said.

As ISIS fighters attacked with tanks and heavy artillery, the city's defenders vowed to keep fighting.

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