Bassem Mroue

Islamic State group militants on Wednesday captured a Jordanian pilot after his warplane crashed in Syria while conducting airstrikes, and a Jordanian official said it was believed to have been shot down by the extremists. If so, it would be the first downing of an aircraft from the international coalition waging an air campaign against the group.

Kurdish fighters advanced on the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, pushing into the contested, refugee-packed Sinjar mountains and gaining ground in the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani after heavy clashes.

Syrian government forces repelled an attack by the Islamic State group on a major air base in the country’s east on Saturday, in fighting that killed dozens on both sides, activists and state media said.

Lebanese authorities detained a woman and young boy believed to be the wife and son of the reclusive Islamic State group leader, and were questioning the woman and conducting DNA tests on the child, senior Lebanese officials said Tuesday.

The Islamic State group launched an attack Saturday on the Syrian border town of Kobani from Turkey — a first in the ongoing siege, a Kurdish official and activists said.

During a key battle in the rugged mountains of a northern province earlier this month, U.S.-backed Syrian rebels collapsed before an assault by al-Qaeda fighters. Some surrendered their weapons. Others outright defected to the militants.