A female Kurdish suicide bomber killed herself when attacking Isis militants on Sunday night as fighters strived to defend the key Syrian town of Kobani.

The woman, who is reportedly a commander in the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit, known as the YPG, broke into an Isis (also known as Islamic State) bastion on the eastern outskirts of Kobani and clashed with militants before detonating herself with a grenade, a monitoring group said on Sunday.

The attack was made during heavy clashes on Sunday, in which the town was pummelled by mortar fire from Isis militants.

Despite US air strikes now targeting Isis units in northern Syria, senior Kurdish fighters have called for “ground support” if they are to have any hope of keeping hold of the strategic town that stands close to the Turkish border. The female suicide bomber has been identified as Arin Mirkan on social media, and her act marks the first known instance of a female Kurdish fighter carrying out a suicide attack, the UK-based monitoring group said.

Rami Abdurrahman, founder and director of the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, told the Independent that he “cannot confirm the exact number” of Isis militants killed by her specific attack, but 27 Isis fighters are understood to have died in Sunday’s clashes.

Kurdish refugees wait by the side of the road near Suruc, Turkey, after their arrival from Kobani, as fighting intensified between Syrian Kurds and Isis (AP)

Kurdish fighters attempting to hold Kobani, which is mainly populated by Kurds, are calling for ammunition and heavy weapons to aid their fight, as they say the US’ air-strikes have done little to stave off Isis’ advance.

“Air strikes alone are really not enough to defeat Isis in Kobani,” Idris Nassan, a senior spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, told the Guardian. “They are besieging the city on three sides, and fighter jets simply cannot hit each and every Isis fighter on the ground.”

Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Show all 22 1 /22 Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Mourners gathered to bury three Kurdish fighters from Kobani Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border An explosion rocks the Syrian city of Kobani during a reported suicide car bomb attack by Isis Getty Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border The US and Turkey have stepped up support for Kurdish fighters defending Kobani against Isis but it is still feared the town may fall; above, observers watch the fighting from a nearby village AFP Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border People are silhouetted on the top of a hill close to the border line between Turkey and Syria near Mursitpinar bordergate as they watch the U.S led airstrikes over ther Syrian town of Kobani Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Syrian Kurd Kiymet Ergun (56) gestures, in Mursitpinar on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, as thick smoke rises following an airstrike by the US-led coalition in Kobani, as fighting continued between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Isis group Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Kurdish Rabia Ali (R) accompanied by her son Ali Mehmud (L) mourn at the grave of her son Seydo Mehmud 'Curo', a Kurdish fighter, who was killed in the fighting with the militants of the Islamic State group in Kobani, and was buried at a cemetery in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Mourners gather for the funeral of two Syrian Kurdish fighters killed in fighting with militants of the Isis group in Kobani at a cemetery in Suruc Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Kurdish refugees fleeing Kobani enter Turkey at Suruc Getty Images Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Smoke from air strikes against Isis in Kobani can be seen from across the border in Mursitpinar, Turkey Getty Images Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Newly arrived Kurdish refugees after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town of Kobani Getty Images Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Kurdish refugees cross the border near Kobani Getty Images Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Smoke rises from the city centre of Kobani Getty Images Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Isis militants stand next to an Isis flag atop a hill in the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobani by the Kurds, as seen from the Turkish-Syrian border, with Turkish troops in foreground, in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border A flag of Isis group is seen atop of a building at the eastern side of the town of Kobani, Syria, where fighting had been intensified between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Isis group Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Militants with the Isis group are seen after placing their group's flag on a hilltop at the eastern side of the town of Kobani Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Smoke rises after an apparent airstrike by allied forces against Isis targets in the west of Kobani where Kurdish fighters try to defend the town, near Suruc district, Sanliurfa, Turkey Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Newly arrived Syrian Kurdish refugees stand at the back of a truck after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town Kobani, near the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Turkish forces fire tear gas to disperse Kurds on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, as fighting intensified between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Isis in Kobani Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Kurdish men shout towards Turkish army soldiers, who try to evacuate people from the village of Mursitpinar, on the other side of the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobani by the Kurds, by the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Turkish Kurds walk as tanks in the background hold their positions on a hilltop in the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, overlooking Kobani in Syria where fighting had ben intensified between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Isis Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Turkish Gendarmerie use tear gas to disperse Kurdish protesters during a demonstration against the Isis, at the Syria-Turkey border near Sanliurfa Isis fighters in Kobani (2014): Civilians flee as militants enter Syria-Turkey border Syria-Turkey border Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province

“Each time a jet approaches, they leave their open positions, they scatter and hide. What we really need is ground support. We need heavy weapons and ammunition in order to fend them off and defeat them,” he said.

Isis militants have now surrounded the town on three sides, pushing their lines to one or two kilometres away from its edge in some areas.

The militant’s assault on the town and its surrounding villages has lasted for weeks, forcing some 160,000 people to flee across the frontier in one of the biggest single exoduses of Syria’s civil war.