Thursday, October 23, 2014

'We ask women all over the world not to underestimate themselves': Meet the inspirational Kurdish women who have given up everything to fight ISIS militants

  • 35% of Kurdish troops in Northern Syria are women
  • They are seen practicing with AK-47s and going through drills
  • Some are taking temporary leave from school to fight ISIS
  • Another video shows ISIS jihadists stalking streets of Kobane 
That is the message from a group of incredibly brave women who have signed up to fight for the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Unit (YPG) against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS).
The young women, seen practising with AK-47s, said that they were motivated to join the YPG to help repel ISIS advances in their hometowns. 
Thity-five per cent of the Kurdish army are women as they defend their territory
Thirty-five per cent of the Kurdish army are women as they defend their territory
One female soldier fires an AK-47 as she improves her target practice
One female soldier fires an AK-47 as she improves her target practice

The female YPG recruits also train alongside their male counterparts, and are seen taking part in military drills close to Kobane. 
One of the brave fighters says: 'They (ISIS) fear our weapons and they are shocked by our strength 
'We ask all women all over the world not to underestimate themselves and believe that they are able to accomplish anything.'
Some of the young women are taking temporary leave from school to join the fight, with 19-year-old Naline, a new YPG recruit, saying: 'Everytime I went to school I felt fear so I quit to defend my land and country... to protect my friends from the fear that I felt.
'I sacrificed my future to help build others.' 
The Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) have reported that as up to 35 per cent of Kurdish troops in northern Syria are women.

The women train alongside the men as they continue to battle ISIS
The women train alongside the men as they continue to battle ISIS
Nineteen-year-old Naline fights against the fear that she felt while at school 
Nineteen-year-old Naline fights against the fear that she felt while at school 
The women say their is no difference between their role and that of the men
The women say their is no difference between their role and that of the men

Armed: Groups of Islamic State militants are seen stalking the Kobane backstreets, wandering from building to building as the sound of intense fighting is heard nearby
Armed: Groups of Islamic State militants are seen stalking the Kobane backstreets, wandering from building to building as the sound of intense fighting is heard nearby
Campaign: The militants enter partially-destroyed factories, where makeshift bedding (left) can be seen against graffiti-daubed walls - suggesting the rooms are being used to house militants while they besiege the town
Campaign: The militants enter partially-destroyed factories, where makeshift bedding (left) can be seen against graffiti-daubed walls - suggesting the rooms are being used to house militants while they besiege the town
Rubble: The ISIS militants are seen wandering in and out of badly damaged buildings throughout the video clip
Rubble: The ISIS militants are seen wandering in and out of badly damaged buildings throughout the video clip

Meanwhile a new video has emerged showing heavily armed Islamic State fighters stalking backstreets in the besieged Syrian city of Kobane while American warplanes circle overhead.
The footage, which emerged on social media accounts linked to the terror group, shows jihadists wandering rubble-lined roads and entering destroyed buildings while the sound of intense gun fights is heard nearby.
The video emerged as fierce street battles broke out yesterday - the first significant fighting in the city since the majority of ISIS' militants were pushed back into the suburbs two days ago by the most intense coalition bombing raids of the past few weeks.
ISIS militants have been largely pushed out of Kobane this week thanks to sustained American airstrikes 
ISIS militants have been largely pushed out of Kobane this week thanks to sustained American airstrikes 
Threat: The video begins by showing an American warplane circling overhead while ISIS militants can be heard chanting religious slogans and asking God to keep them safe
Threat: The video begins by showing an American warplane circling overhead while ISIS militants can be heard chanting religious slogans and asking God to keep them safe

The clashes came as desperate ISIS jihadists launched a final assault 'on all fronts' to take the town yesterday, after the militants felt the full force of American air power with sustained bombing raids resulting in a series of spectacular explosions in the besieged Syrian town.

Funerals held for fallen Kurds 

 
Hundreds of ethnic Kurds turned out for the burial of three brave resistance fighters who died battling militants from the Islamic State in Kobane.
The funerals of two men and a woman barely out her teens were held in the Turkish village of Suruc, within clear sight of the Kurdish fighters' besieged hometown over the border in Syria.
The three Kurdish fighters were members of the People's Protection Units, or YPG, and died in fierce clashes in Kobane, which has been under assault by ISIS extremists since mid-September. 
The video begins by showing an American warplane circling overhead while ISIS militants can be heard chanting religious slogans and asking God to keep them safe. 
Masked men are then seen stalking the Kobane backstreets, wandering from building to building as the sound of intense fighting is heard nearby.
The militants enter partially-destroyed factories, where makeshift bedding can be seen against the walls - suggesting the rooms are being used to house militants while they besiege the town.
Militants, some of them not wearing masks, are then interviewed on camera and describe in Arabic their brutal efforts to seize the town from its largely Kurdish population. 
The extremists have been dramatically pushed back from the town in recent days, having as recently as last week looked like it was about to drive out the last of the brave Kurdish fighters defending it.
As a fresh round of airstrikes rained down earlier this week, the US also ran a series of airdrops for the Kurdish resistance, dispatching weapons and medical supplies.

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