A 19-year old German woman is the first foreign female killed in action while fighting alongside the Kurds against the terrorists of Islamic State (IS).  Ivana Hoffman is also the third foreign fatality overall. 

Hoffman joined the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) six months ago.  She was killed in predawn clashes on 7 March, the day before International Women’s Day.  She was among 40 killed over the weekend in fighting near Tal Tamr in northwestern Syria.  In Kurdish-held territory, women of the YPG vowed that Ivana’s “sacrifice” would be defended.  It’s believed that about one-third of YPG fighters are women, defending the Kurdish-controlled areas now called "Rojava" that wre liberated from IS.

Earlier, Ivana appeared in two videos uploaded to the Internet; in one, she is seen in fatigues and a veil, holding an assault weapon, and explaining that she joined the YPG “because they are fighting for humanity here, for rights and for internationalism that the MLKP represents. We are here as the MLKP to fight for freedom”.  In the other, she appears before the MLKP flag.

Hoffmann was also a member of the Marxist MLKP of Turkey, which released a statement declaring her to be “immortal”, referring to her by her nom de guerre, Avashin Tekoshin.

“Our comrade Avashin had been at the front using her weapons to resist the bloody onslaught of the IS gang against the Assyrian villages in Tal Tamr for days,” the statement said.  “During these clashes, dozens of gang members were killed. Our comrade Avashin fought to the last bullet together with the fighters of the YPG.”

Australian Ashley Johnson was the first foreign fighter killed in battle against IS in February.  A British man, Konstandinos Erick Scurfield, was also killed.