Although the animation commands only animate a single element or group, it can have a much greater effect via use:

<defs>
<path id="star" style="fill:white;stroke:none" d="M0,-14 L8,11 L-13,-4 L13,-4 -8,11z"> 
 <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" values="0;360" dur="3s"  repeatCount="indefinite" /> 
</path> 
</defs>
<use xlink:href="#star" x="60" y="30"/> etc

Animating a star that is going to be used many times means that all the stars are animated with the single animateTransform command.