Female YPG Commander Detonates Herself in Islamic State Bastion

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Kurdish Peshmerga troops participate in an intensive security deployment against Islamic State militants in a village on the outskirts of the province of Nineveh near the border province of Dohuk, August 9, 2014

A female commander of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has broken into an Islamic State bastion and detonated herself with a grenade, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sunday.
"Aleppo province: a female commander in YPG broke into [Islamic State] bastion around the eastern outskirts of [Ayn al-Arab], clashed with them, fired grenades then detonated herself with a grenade," the organization wrote.
According to the Observatory, clashes continue "around dozens of points" near Ayn al-Arab, as the IS has taken over 350 villages around the city.


The Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel reported that fierce fighting between Kurdish militia and the IS continues on the outskirts of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobani. Kurdish fighters reportedly hold their positions on the strategic Mashtat Nour hill, which overlooks the city center.

The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq. IS militants have seized vast areas in both countries and proclaimed a caliphate on the territories under its control.