Women Kurdish Fighters

Women travelling to join Islamic State militants are no longer just seeking to become "jihadi brides" but are taking on new roles, on the frontline in logistics and intelligence and as medics, according to military and expert sources.

The body of a young German woman killed in Syria fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (IS) group was today transferred to the Turkish side of the border ahead of burial in Germany, reports said.

About 7,500 women are estimated to have joined the Women's Protection Unit, or YPJ, many as volunteers, which was set up in 2012 as part of the People's Defense Unit (YPG), the Kurds' dominant fighting unit in the northern Syria region of Rojava.

Just over a year ago, Afshin Kobani was a teacher. Now, the Kurdish Syrian woman has traded the classroom for the front lines in the battle for Kobane, a town besieged by fighters from the Islamic State extremist group.

Women travelling to join Islamic State militants are no longer just seeking to become "jihadi brides" but are taking on new roles, on the frontline in logistics and intelligence and as medics, according to military and expert sources.

The body of a young German woman killed in Syria fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (IS) group was today transferred to the Turkish side of the border ahead of burial in Germany, reports said.

About 7,500 women are estimated to have joined the Women's Protection Unit, or YPJ, many as volunteers, which was set up in 2012 as part of the People's Defense Unit (YPG), the Kurds' dominant fighting unit in the northern Syria region of Rojava.

Just over a year ago, Afshin Kobani was a teacher. Now, the Kurdish Syrian woman has traded the classroom for the front lines in the battle for Kobane, a town besieged by fighters from the Islamic State extremist group.