kobani blast
A shell explodes in the Syrian city of Kobani. Aris Messinis/AFP

Kurdish fighters have nearly pushed the Islamic State (Isis) out of the Syrian border town of Kobani (also known as Kobane) after 133 days of siege fighting, according to Kurdish sources and a monitoring group.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) "have almost full control over Kobane after expelling Islamic State fighters".

The report was confirmed by Kurdish politician Hemin Hawrami, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP's) foreign relations team, on Twitter.

Earlier on Monday, the London-based Syrian Observatory reported that YPG fighters took control of over 90% of Kobani, advancing in the Kani Erban and Maqtalah neighbourhoods and pushing Isis militants to the eastern outskirts of the town.

Local media broadcast news of the almost-complete liberation of the flashpoint town: