A 26-year-old British woman volunteer has been killed in Syria while fighting with the all-female Kurdish armed YPJ unit, reports the BBC.
Anna Campbell from Lewes, East Sussex, reportedly died on 15 March in Afrin, which has been under bombardment by Turkish forces, her father told the news outlet.
Dirk Campbell described his daughter – who traveled to Syria in May 2017 to help the Kurds fighting the Islamic State group – as 'very idealistic' and 'determined'.
'She wanted to create a better world and she would do everything in her power to do that,' he said.
'I told her of course that she was putting her life in danger, which she knew full well she was doing.
'I feel I should have done more to persuade her to come back, but she was completely adamant.'
Turkey has been fighting Kurdish groups on Syrian territory close to its border since January, reports the BBC.
It is thought Campbell had originally been involved in the fighting with the YPJ in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria where IS have continued to hold the last of their territory.
Her father explained his daughter's Kurdish comrades tried to stop her heading to Afrin, north Syria earlier this year.
'With fair hair and blue eyes they knew she would stand out, but she dyed her hair black and persuaded them to let her go,' he said.
Friends of Ms Campbell in Syria told the news source the qualified plumber was killed by Turkish airstrikes, describing her as a feminist with 'sincerity and courage' who wanted to fight for women's liberation in the Middle East.
Campbell is reportedly the first British woman to have died in Syria with the YPJ, but the eighth to have been killed while helping the groups.
In December, ELLE UK spoke to Canadian fighter Hannah Bohman about life in the YPJ.
'There's nothing really scary about being with the YPJ. I feel very safe with those girls,' admitted Bohman, referring to some of 10,000 members of the women's militia army who battle on the front line against members of al Qaeda splinter group, ISIS.
Their ultimate aim is to reclaim Syrian territory from ISIS attacks, free women and children captured to become jihadi brides, and fight to the death for democracy and women's rights in the Middle East.
Read more about Bohman's fight with the YPJ here.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
