Denis Sipan had, until recently, been employed as a schoolteacher in the predominately northern part of Syria bordering with Turkey, a region of unofficial Kurdistan.

For five months now, however, she quit her job to fight against the Jihadists that have swarmed like locusts over much of rebel-controlled eastern Syria and a third of Iraq. The young woman is a sniper near the now legendary town of Kobani, where she shares her weapon with housewives and farmers alike.

The Kurdish defence forces managed to retake 50 of the villages under ISIS control just last week.

Sipan stated that “If we had not acted, the whole area would be filled with jihadists who kill, rape and destroy everything”.

When a CBS news reporter asked her when she plans to stop fighting the jihadists and return to teaching, she answered: “I do not think this will happen. I must continue to protect myself, my friends, my people, and my country”.

Sipan also revealed that despite the successes of Kurdish fighters against ISIS, they lack the proper equipment to fight them off efficiently, and she -many times- has to share her rifle with another sniper.