Kurdish defenders of the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane awaited reinforcements Tuesday after weathering another onslaught by Islamic State jihadists.

Fighting appeared to have diminished after a fierce attack late Monday by IS fighters, including suicide bombers, witnesses and monitors said.

IS jihadists in east Kobane were exchanging fire with Kurdish militia in the west and there were reports of an explosion, probably a car bomb, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

A total of 30 jihadists and 11 Kurdish fighters were killed in 24 hours, the Britain-based Observatory said late Tuesday, adding that IS was bringing in reinforcements "as a result of the daily losses in Kobane".

The town has become a crucial battleground in the war against IS, which is fighting to extend areas under its control in Iraq and Syria where it has declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Ankara announced Monday that it would help Kurdish forces from Iraq to relieve Kobane's beleaguered defenders, in a major shift of policy that was swiftly welcomed by Washington.

Iraqi Kurdish officials have said they will provide the training, although any forces sent will be Syrian Kurds.

A local Kurdish official, Idris Nassen, told AFP Kobane was relatively calm on Tuesday, adding that no reinforcements had yet arrived and they did not have "any idea" when they would.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed Kurdish fighters had yet to cross from Turkey to Kobane, explaining that "the issue is still being discussed".

The US administration has stepped up its commitment to Kobane in recent days, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying it would be "irresponsible" and "morally very difficult" not to help.

Three C-130 cargo aircraft carried out what the US military called successful drops of supplies early on Monday, including arms provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq.

- Further strikes -

A US-led coalition has carried out more than 140 air strikes against IS targets around Kobane, but it was the first time it had delivered arms to the town's defenders.

US Central Command said one of the 27 bundles had gone astray but that American warplanes bombed it to prevent it being snatched by IS.

It also said American warplanes carried out four strikes near Kobane on Monday and Tuesday, while coalition aircraft conducted another three in Iraq.

Despite the Kobane operation, US commanders said the top priority remains Iraq, where IS swept through much of the Sunni Arab heartland north and west of Baghdad in June, with both government and Kurdish forces under pressure.

The jihadists attacked the Kurdish-controlled town of Qara Tapah on Monday, killing at least 10 people and prompting half of its 9,000 residents to flee.

"We are afraid IS will encircle us and turn this town into a second Amerli," said one resident, referring to a mainly Shiite Turkmen town further north besieged by IS for two months over the summer.

Since last week, Baghdad also seen a rise in the number of bombings, several of which have been claimed by IS.

Two car bombs exploded Tuesday in a Shiite area of the capital, killing at least 12.

The violence has raised fears IS will attack large gatherings of Shiite worshippers during the upcoming Ashura commemorations, the target of devastating bombings in past years.

- Iraq PM in Tehran -

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, in Iran for talks with his Shiite ally, described IS as "a threat to the entire region".

IS holds towns just a few miles (kilometres) from the Iranian border, and Tehran has been a key backer of Baghdad's efforts to hold them back.

According to a senior Iraqi Kurdish official, Iran has deployed troops on the Iraqi side of the border in the Khanaqin area northeast of Baghdad.

Iranian forces also played a role in breaking the siege of Amerli, another senior Kurdish official said.

But Abadi has ruled out any foreign ground intervention to assist government forces in retaking territory lost to jihadists.

After meeting Abadi, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he believed Iraq and its government "have the capacity to overcome the terrorists and establish security. There is no need for foreign presence".

He added that "we stand beside you and will seriously defend your government like the previous government."

In Syria, IS posted a video on YouTube appearing to show a Syrian man taking part in stoning his daughter to death for alleged adultery.

The Observatory said the execution took place in August or September in an IS-controlled rural area in the east of the central province of Hama.

It was the latest in a spate of videotaped executions that the jihadists have posted on social media as they impose their extreme version of Islamic sharia law on areas under their control.

Elsewhere in Syria, regime air raids killed at least 15 people Wednesday in rebel-held Nassib, on the Jordanian border, the Observatory said.

Turkey unveils stringent new anti-protest laws
Istanbul (AFP) Oct 21, 2014 - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu unveiled sweeping new security laws branded as repressive by critics, saying those in possession of banned objects at protests would face up to four years in jail.

The changes were first announced last week by the Islamic-rooted government following deadly protests in Istanbul and the Kurdish-majority southeast over Turkey's Syria policy.

Davutoglu said the legislation is aimed at ending the ambiguity over the use in demonstrations of "weapons of violence", including Molotov cocktails, stones and other sharp objects.

Those protestors possessing such objects -- not currently regarded as a crime -- will be detected and banned from entering rallies.

Police will be able to arrest those suspected of possessing such objects at a protest, and those convicted could face up to four years in jail, he added.

"Molotov cocktails are weapons of violence. If someone sets fire to ambulances, libraries, mosques or koranic institutions by throwing Molotov cocktails... we cannot call this freedom," Davutoglu told a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara.

He said the bill calls for stricter punishment for offenders wearing masks to conceal their identity, damaging public property, as well as resisting the police.

The detention time limit will be doubled to 48 hours, Davutoglu said.

Police will also be given greater authority to search demonstrators or their houses, without the need for "concrete evidence".

"Calls for violence" through social media will also be recognised a crime, he said.

The legislation will make it easier for authorities to wiretap suspects and allow for these recordings to be used as evidence.

- 'Don't call it authoritarian' -

At least 34 people were killed and 360 wounded earlier this month when Kurds took to streets over Turkey's lack of support for the mainly-Kurdish Syrian border town of Kobane, which is under attack from Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

Over 1,000 people were detained for their involvement in the protests which caused damage to hundreds of public buildings.

The heavy-handed tactics used by Turkish police, who frequently resort to tear gas and water cannon, have drawn widespread criticism from rights groups at home and abroad.

A brutal police crackdown on anti-government protests in May-June 2013 left eight people dead and thousands injured.

The reform package has sparked outrage from the opposition, which said it would turn Turkey into a "police state" and threaten citizens' right to protest.

But Davutoglu said it is aimed at "strengthening the guarantee of public liberties and security".

He also warned foreign media not to characterise the reforms as authoritarian, saying the same measures are in place in other countries.

"Media outlets in Europe should not make a fuss about this law... They need to engage in self-criticism first," he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also lashed out at criticism of the legislation, saying the government was taking the same measures "as Europe and the US".

"I personally know how the security forces in the West handle violence and vandalism," Erdogan told a symposium in Ankara.

The legislation will also impose tougher penalties for drug dealers, who are "seeking to eradicate the next generations" and "will be treated like terrorists", Davutoglu said.

These measures are part of a crackdown on bonzai, a synthetic drug which has become a serious social problem in Turkey.