DAMASCUS: Islamic State group fighters closed in Monday to within only a few kilometres of a key Kurdish town on Syria’s border with Turkey, despite new air strikes by the US-led coalition.

NATO member Turkey deployed tanks to reinforce its side of the border and said parliament would this week debate joining the coalition against the jihadists operating on the country’s doorstep.

The alliance carried out new raids against IS positions overnight and on Monday, but the jihadists still managed to advance within five kilometres (three miles) of the strategic Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane to the Kurds, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It was the closest the militants had come to the town since they began advancing toward it nearly two weeks ago, sending tens of thousands of refugees across the border, said the Britain-based monitoring group.

As they advanced, the jihadists fired at least 15 rockets at the town centre, killing at least one person, the Observatory said, adding other rockets hit the border zone.

On the other side of the frontier, an AFP photographer said Turkey’s army was deploying tanks and armoured vehicles to the town of Mursitpinar, after some stray bullets hit Turkish villages and at least three mortar shells landed nearby.

In Ankara, parliamentary speaker Cemil Cicek was reported to have said that motions for discussions on Turkey joining the coalition could land with lawmakers on Tuesday. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the motions would be debated on Thursday.

Turkey had refused to join the coalition while dozens of its citizens — including diplomats and children — were being held by IS after being abducted in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.—AFP