Share
Time Subscription
When I first asked the American special operations soldiers who among the fighters they worked with I should meet in Syria, one of the first names that always arose was Azeema. She came from Qamishli, a town in northeastern Syria, and was known for her relentless willingness to lead from the front, her swashbuckling manner, her chain-smoking ways and her wry sense of humor.
She was part of the Women’s Protection Units, the all-women’s force that faced off against ISIS on the ground each day, fighting the men of the Islamic State room-by-room and house-by-house, and she had started fighting ISIS in 2013 before the group was officially born.
In Kobani, a town few outside Syria had heard of before the Islamic State’s stunning string of wins in 2014, Azeema came to lead women and men in the fight against the extremists of ISIS who wanted to impose their unique brand of terror on Kobani’s streets.
Categories
Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran
Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend
The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’
In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day
A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill
