UN concerned for civilians trapped in Syrian town

GENEVA (AP) - The new U.N. envoy to Syria warned today that at least 500 civilians remain trapped in the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani besieged by the Islamic State group and that they were likely "be massacred" if it falls to the extremists. The dramatic warning by Staffan de Mistura came as the Islamic State group this week pushed into Kobani, along the Syria-Turkish border, for the first time since launching its offensive in the area in mid-September. The onslaught has forced more than 200,000 to flee across the border into Turkey. Activists say the fighting over Kobani has already killed more than 500 people.