The News Minute | October 6, 2014 | 9.40 am IST

A female Kurdish fighter blew herself up at a gathering of the Islamic State (IS) near the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The unnamed woman, which was a leading figure at the Kurdish militants of the People's Protection Units or YPG, stormed a gathering of the IS fighters at the outskirts of Kobane, hurling grenades at them before blowing herself up, Xinhua reported citing the observatory.

The observatory said the incident marked the first instance where a female fighter carried out a suicide mission, especially in Kobane where Kurdish female fighters fight alongside the Kurdish men to defend the city against the wide-scale attack by the IS.

The clashes around Kobane are still incessant as the IS succeeded to seize control over 350 villages around Kobane since they unleashed the attack against the city in September, the statement said.

The suicide bombing by the Kurdish woman came just a couple of days after another 19-year-old Kurdish woman fighter shot herself down after finding herself surrounded by IS forces near Kobane.

IANS