Thirty metres under the city of Kobani, north-east Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) kept a watchful eye on the Turkish border. A plasma screen TV displayed 16 surveillance feeds to officers in a room in one of the Kurdish-led militia’s tunnels, where Kalashnikovs and SDF flags adorned the walls.
The soldiers dare not emerge from the tunnels, fearful of being picked off by the Turkish drones buzzing overhead. They move between facilities in the subterranean network on foot, emerging from entrances hidden in nondescript buildings.
