10 Mar 2015

German woman killed in IS battle

5:20 pm on 10 March 2015

A German woman has been killed battling Islamic State forces in Syria.

Iraqi policemen raise their weapons during a training session as they prepare to recapture Mosul from Islamic State fighters.

Photo: AFP

She is the third confirmed foreign national to die fighting alongside Kurdish forces in the region and the first foreign woman to die there.

Ivana Hoffman, 19, reportedly joined the Kurdish unit about six months ago.

In an earlier video, Hoffman said she was taking place in the battle against the Islamic State in order to 'fight for humanity'.

She was a member of a Turkish communist group called the MLKP.

While Germany said there were about 650 citizens fighting alongside the Islamic State, they have not released any information about how many might be fighting on the other side.

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