Aylan Kurdi is not from Kobane, say sources

Sources in Kobane say that widely-circulated reports about the young boy identified as Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body was found on the shores of Bodrum, Turkey, being from the north Syrian Kurdish region are incorrect. 

“Not a single family in Kobane claims to be connected or know the young boy," said head of the Journalists Office in Kobane Mustafa Bali. “Kobane maintains very strong social connections and community links; families across the villages all know each other well."

"As far as we locals know, the boy is not from here,” he added. “The reporters who’ve written about the boy are not from here [Kobane] and it is more likely their reports about the boy being from Kobane are incorrect." 

Many Syrians as well as other refugees from across the region make the journey across the Aegean Sea from the Turkish borders to Greece. Bali believes Aylan might have been from anywhere across Syria or elsewhere.

Several Arabic media reports have suggested that the boy is a Palestinian. 

Bali believes that journalists have used the name Kobane in their reports of the incident to attract media attention.

“Using Kobane as a name and saying the boy is a Kurd attracts a lot of media attention because our fight with IS,” said Bali.