Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State say they have recaptured a strategically important hilltop west of Kobane on Syria's border with Turkey.

The advance came as the US said it had conducted 21 air strikes near the town, slowing down the IS advance.

Tall Shair hill had been captured more than 10 days ago by IS militants.

Later today, US President Barack Obama will host talks with military chiefs from more than 20 countries on how to combat IS in Syria and Iraq.

Correspondents say this is the first time such high-ranking military officials from so many countries have come together since the US-led coalition was formed last month.

In a separate development, Turkish warplanes on Monday bombed Kurdistan Workers' Party rebel targets in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, causing "heavy casualties", Turkish media report.

If confirmed, this would be the first major air raid by Turkey on the PKK since a ceasefire was reached in March 2013.

On Tuesday sources in the Kurdish Popular Protection Units said that they had regained control of Tall Shair hill-top, about 4km to the west and near an informal border crossing.

In a statement the US military said today's air strikes had destroyed IS buildings and military vehicles.

The statement said the security situation on the ground "remains fluid with IS attempting to gain territory and Kurdish militia continuing to hold out".

The battle for Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish town, has lasted for a month and emerged as a major test of whether the coalition's air campaign can push back IS.

Two weeks of air strikes against IS targets in and around Kobane have allowed Kurdish fighters to slow the jihadists' advance, but Turkish and Western leaders have warned that the town is still likely to fall.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, reported that IS carried out three separate suicide bomb attacks.