US weapon-drop accidentally lands in IS hands

ISLAMIC State group fighters seized at least one cache of weapons air-dropped by US-led coalition forces that were meant to supply Kurdish militiamen battling the extremist group in a border town.

The cache of weapons included hand grenades, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, according to a video uploaded by a media group loyal to the Islamic State group.

The video appeared authentic and corresponded to the Associated Press" reporting of the event. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which bases its information on a network of activists on the ground, said the militants had seized at least one cache.

The caches were air-dropped early on Monday to Kurds in the embattled Syrian town of Kobane that lies near the Turkish border.

The militant group has been trying to seize the town for over a month now, causing the exodus of some 200,000 people from the area into Turkey. While Kurds are battling on the ground, a U.S.-led coalition is also targeting the militants from the air.

On Tuesday, IS loyalists on social media posted sarcastic thank you notes to the United States, including one image that said "Team USA.”

But the lost weapons drop was more an embarrassment than a great strategic loss. The Islamic State militants already possess millions of dollars-worth of US weaponry that they captured from fleeing Iraqi soldiers when the group seized swathes of Iraq in a sudden sweep in June.

On Tuesday, the US Central Command said US military forces conducted four air strikes near Kobane that destroyed IS fighting positions, an IS building and a large IS unit.

Also Tuesday, Syrian govement air strikes hit a rebel-held town along the country"s southe border with Jordan, killing at least eight people.