A high-ranking military commander says the US-led airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria are part of a “show” aimed at paving the way for foreign military presence in the Arab country. “There is premonition of conspiracy to victimize the people of (the Syrian Kurdish town of) Kobane in order to create a bridgehead for the military presence of the (US-led) coalition in Syria,” Press TV quoted Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the armed forces, as saying on Saturday. The commander underlined the need to help the people of Kobane in their fight against IS, implicitly criticizing the Turkish government for refusing to let Kurdish fighters to cross the border into Syria to join the battle against IS terrorists.