After more than two months of air strikes, American commanders have finally decided on a name for the US-led war against Islamic State jihadists -- "Operation Inherent Resolve."

The decision was taken "a few days ago" by the chiefs of all the armed services, said Colonel Ed Thomas, spokesman for the US military's top officer, General Martin Dempsey.

"The operation is called 'Operation Inherent Resolve,'" Thomas told reporters Wednesday.

The name had already been cited in previous media reports as a possible choice that was rejected by some officers.

The US military's Central Command, which oversees the air campaign, said the the name was meant "to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the US and partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL."

The name also symbolized the "dedication of coalition members to work closely with our friends in the region and apply all available dimensions of national power necessary -- diplomatic, informational, military, economic - to degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State group, it said.

The US military usually wastes no time in announcing the name of a military operation.

The named operations also offer a way of organizing medals for service and valor, and that requirement might have provided the top brass an extra incentive to arrive at a decision.

The 2003 American invasion of Iraq was known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the war in Afghanistan is still known as Operation Enduring Freedom.

During the US occupation of Iraq from 2003 to 2011, there were more than 500 named operations, including Operation Airborne Dragon, Operation Soda Mountain and Operation Tapeworm.

Shortly after troops began arriving in Liberia last month to help in the effort against the Ebola outbreak, the Pentagon unveiled the name of that mission: Operation United Assistance.

US warplanes started bombing the IS group in Iraq in early August, but the mission has had been no official moniker until now.

Some commentators alleged that the lack of a name reflected the White House's lack of enthusiasm for intervening in Iraq and Syria, but US officials dismissed the idea as ridiculous.

Some reporters tweeted suggestions for possible names, including one favorite that referred to the American-made Humvee vehicles seized by IS militants -- "Operation Hey That's My Humvee."

Syria: the battle for Kobane
Damascus (AFP) Oct 15, 2014 - Here are the main developments in the battle for the northern Syrian town of Kobane -- known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic -- which enters its second month on Thursday.

Since fighting started between Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish forces on September 16, nearly 600 people, mostly combatants, have been killed, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

More than 300,000 people have fled their homes, over 200,000 of them to Turkey and thousands more to Iraq.

-- SEPTEMBER 2014 --

- 16: IS jihadists, who in June proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria, launch a major offensive, laying siege to Kobane to seal control over a large band along the border with Turkey.

Since the IS emerged in Syria in 2013, there has been fierce fighting between Kurds and jihadists, the former defending the zones where they have asserted autonomy since the start of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.

The Kobane region is at the centre of three predominantly Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria, with Afrin to the west and Jazira in the northeast with its main cities of Qamishli and Hasakeh.

- 19: IS has seizes 60 Kurdish villages near the border in a lightning two-day campaign.

"The Kurdish fighters are beating a retreat because they are outnumbered," says Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

- 23: The US and Arab allies -- Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- launch strikes on IS militants in Syria. A US-led coalition had already struck them in Iraq.

-- OCTOBER --

- 5: A female Kurdish fighter carries out a suicide bomb attack against jihadists outside Kobane, in the first such instance to have been reported against the extremist group, which has itself often favoured the tactic.

- 6: Pro-Kurdish protesters start days of clashes with police in Turkish cities, including Istanbul, in a show of anger against the lack of action against jihadists fighting for Kobane. At least 34 are killed.

The jihadists breach Kobane's defences.

- 10: The head of the main Kurdish political party in Syria -- the Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- calls on Turkey to allow its territory to be used for passing weapons to Kurdish fighters defending Kobane.

Jihadists capture the headquarters of Kurdish fighters defending the town.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura warns of a looming "massacre" by the IS.

- 13: IS fights its way into central Kobane and claims half of the town, according to the Observatory.

- 14: The American military says its latest strikes have "slowed" the IS advance on Kobane.

Turkish jets bomb targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in southeast Turkey, the first strikes on the outlawed group since a 2013 ceasefire.

- 15: Kurds backed by a flurry of US-led strikes are reported to have stopped IS from gaining more ground in Kobane and recapture two jihadist positions.

Turkey says only Syrian refugees are allowed to cross its border to fight the jihadists for Kobane.