Skip links

Skip to Content
play

Live

Navigation menu

  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Ukraine war
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
    • Coronavirus
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    • Podcasts
play

Live

In Pictures

Gallery|ISIL/ISIS

Meet the female Kurdish fighters battling ISIL

From Syria’s strategic Tishrin Dam, members of the YPG and YPJ have launched operations against ISIL.

YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella group that includes Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen fighters, watch over the Tishrin Dam. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
By Mauricio Morales
Published On 11 May 201611 May 2016
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

The Tishrin Dam, which provides energy to the Syrian city of Kobane, is one of the country’s heavily contested frontlines.

The strategic dam in northern Syria has changed hands numerous times, and was retaken from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) by Kurdish fighters last December.

Today, from this area, a coalition of fighters that includes the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG, and their female counterparts, YPJ) have launched operations against ISIL.

YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
Fighters man a post near a village that was previously held by ISIL. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
Female Kurdish fighters, referred to as the YPJ, have been active in Syria's Kurdish areas. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
An injured YPJ fighter is transported near the Tishrin Dam. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
The dam area was retaken from ISIL by Kurdish fighters last December. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
The dam has become a heavily contested frontline. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
A YPJ fighter sits in a frontline position west of the Euphrates River. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
Since the operation to retake the dam, YPJ fighters have been holding the line along the Euphrates. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
YPJ and YPG units, along with other Arab and Turkmen groups, control positions near the dam. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
The YPJ fighters are just one of myriad groups battling for control in Syria. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
YPJ and YPG fighters pause at a frontline position, looking out across the Euphrates. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
Two fighters rest in a position on the hilltop they are manning. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
A YPG fighter looks out over his rifle to an ISIL position 10km away. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
The area around the strategic dam has changed hands numerous times. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]
YPJ women kurdish fighters/Please Do Not Use
A YPJ fighter laughs on a windy day in the trenches. [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Apps
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2023 Al Jazeera Media Network