Johannesburg - A 19-year-old German woman, whose parents are South African, has become the first female foreign fighter to be killed battling Islamic State alongside Kurdish militia groups, according to media and NGO reports.
Ivana Hoffman was killed on Saturday near Tal Tamr, in north-western Syria, fighting with the Kurdish Popular Protection Units, their spokesman, Nawaf Khalil, told CBC news.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the death but did not name Hoffman. The BBC said she was a member of Turkey’s Marxist-Leninist Communist Party and had joined the Kurdish fighters six months ago.
A statement from the party, which referred to her by her nom de guerre, Avasin Tekosin Gunes, declared her to be “immortal”.
The BBC said a video had been posted online showing a woman identified as Hoffman with her face covered with a veil, holding a rifle and explaining in German that she came to Syria to “fight for humanity and freedom”. It could not be established where she came from in Germany or whether she was born there or in South Africa.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants had been killed in the battle for Tal Tamr.
Hoffman is the third foreign fighter known to have been killed fighting Islamic State in Syria’s Hassakeh province in the past fortnight, the BBC said.
Briton Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, a former Royal Marine, was shot dead on March 2 while fighting for the Kurdish Popular Protection Units in Tal Khuzela.
The week before, Australian Ashley Johnston was reportedly killed when the vehicle he was travelling in with members of the Kurdish group broke down and was surrounded by Islamic State militants near Tal Hamis.
Independent Foreign Services