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UK woman Kimberley Taylor 'joins fight against IS' UK woman Kimberley Taylor 'joins fight against IS'
(about 5 hours later)
A British woman who has travelled to Syria to fight so-called Islamic State has said she is willing to die in the battle against the militant group.A British woman who has travelled to Syria to fight so-called Islamic State has said she is willing to die in the battle against the militant group.
Kimberley Taylor, from Blackburn, told the Guardian she joined Kurdish forces known as the YPJ in March last year. Kimberley Taylor, from Blackburn, told BBC News she had joined Kurdish forces known as the YPJ in March last year.
The 27-year-old, who is on the front line in Raqqa, said fighting IS was for "humanity and all oppressed people". The 27-year-old, who is on the front line in Raqqa, said fighting IS was for "democracy and freedom from extremism".
She is the first known woman from the UK to successfully travel to Syria to join the fight against IS.She is the first known woman from the UK to successfully travel to Syria to join the fight against IS.
Anti-IS forces have been trying to recapture Raqqa since it became the group's defacto capital in 2014. Despite fighting in a war zone, she said: "I really don't want to scare my family."
Anti-IS forces have been trying to recapture Raqqa since it became the group's de facto capital in 2014.
'Systematic torture''Systematic torture'
Ms Taylor, a former maths student at the University of Liverpool, told the Guardian she had spent 11 months learning Kurdish and studying regional politics, weaponry and battlefield tactics at the Kurdish Women's Protection Units' (YPJ) dedicated military academy. Ms Taylor, a former maths student at the University of Liverpool, said she had spent 11 months learning Kurdish and studying regional politics, weaponry and battlefield tactics at the Kurdish Women's Protection Units' (YPJ) dedicated military academy.
Ms Taylor, who is also known as Kimmie and by the name Zilan Dilmar, said she joined the YPJ on the front line in October. "Everyone here sees the YPJ as leaders of the revolution, they're women that we can't compare with anything in the world," she said.
Ms Taylor, who is also known as Kimmie and by the name Zilan Dilmar, said she went the front line with the YPJ in October.
Like their male counterparts in the affiliated YPG, the YPJ has women who fight on the front line.Like their male counterparts in the affiliated YPG, the YPJ has women who fight on the front line.
"I'm willing to give my life for this," Ms Taylor said. "The [women] are young, 18, 19, 20, they're taking on this power which seems uncontrollable", she said.
"It's for the whole world, for humanity and all oppressed people, everywhere. Although willing to risk her life for the cause, she said: "I don't want to die, I have too much work to do.
"It's not just [IS's] killing and raping. "It's a necessary thing," she added. "This is for the freedom of all people and this is for humanity."
"It's its systematic mental and physical torture on a scale we can't imagine."
The Kurdish women fighting ISThe Kurdish women fighting IS
Volunteering with the Kurds to fight ISVolunteering with the Kurds to fight IS
Islamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in mapsIslamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in maps
Ms Taylor's journey to Syria began 18 months ago when she reported for a friend's website on the first anniversary of the massacre in Sinjar, Iraq, in August 2014, where thousands of Yazidi women, children and men were killed and enslaved.Ms Taylor's journey to Syria began 18 months ago when she reported for a friend's website on the first anniversary of the massacre in Sinjar, Iraq, in August 2014, where thousands of Yazidi women, children and men were killed and enslaved.
Explaining her motivation to join the fight against IS, she told the story of a friend - an Arab YPJ fighter from Syria - whose village was ransacked by IS fighters last year. Explaining her motivation to join the fight against IS, she told the story of a friend - an Arab YPJ fighter from Syria - whose village had been ransacked by IS fighters last year.
"She was from a pro-Assad family and her eight-year-old sister wrote on a wall: 'Without our leader, there is no life'. She did it as a protest against Isis (IS)," she said. She said the friend, who was from a pro-Assad family, had seen her eight-year-old sister killed by IS and decided to run away to join the YPJ.
"So they took her to a tall building and ran her over and over again with a car. Then, with the last one pushed her off the building. My friend ran away to join the YPJ." The sister had reportedly been killed for writing "without our leader, there is no life" on a wall, Ms Taylor said.
'In my heart''In my heart'
Ms Taylor's primary role is to record the YPJ's operations by writing battlefield reports and taking photographs and videos of the action.Ms Taylor's primary role is to record the YPJ's operations by writing battlefield reports and taking photographs and videos of the action.
She told the Guardian she did not tell her family she was joining the conflict until she arrived. She said she sometimes "feels a bit stupid" when filming the fighting, but that "it is a necessary thing".
But she said this was often made difficult because of the realities of living in a war zone. Ms Taylor described a recent attack on the camp in the early hours of the morning.
"Actually most of the time I'm not doing any videos at all, but fighting with the unit when we come under attack." "We were all sleeping and I woke up to a lot of loud bangs and immediately took my weapon," she said.
So far, she says, she has not seen much action other than a few skirmishes, but acknowledged IS would not give up Raqqa "without a fight". The attack lasted around three hours, Ms Taylor said.
"I want to get in there because this is something in my heart. I need to do it." "We were at one side of the building, and one of the IS members came round the corner and blew himself up."
Although Ms Taylor is the first known woman from the UK to reach Syria to join the fight against IS, numerous British men have done so.Although Ms Taylor is the first known woman from the UK to reach Syria to join the fight against IS, numerous British men have done so.
In January it emerged 20-year-old Ryan Lock had died in December as a volunteer fighter for YPG during a battle for Raqqa.In January it emerged 20-year-old Ryan Lock had died in December as a volunteer fighter for YPG during a battle for Raqqa.