Female Soldier Known as 'Kurdish Angelina Jolie' Killed in Battle Against Daesh

Asia Ramazan Antar earned her nickname after her photos appeared on social media and went viral, with people around the globe noting her haunting beauty and resemblance to the internationally popular activist and film actor.

Antar, a machine gunner and avowed feminist, fought Daesh extremists beginning at the age of 18, reportedly playing keys roles in several key battles.

Two years ago she joined YPJ, the all-women brigade of YPG, hoping to free women from patriarchal domination in her hometown. The group of around 10,000 volunteer female fighters is allied to the Democratic Union Party in the Kurdish region of Syria, and fights intensely to oust terrorists from Kurdish territory.

​According to Syrian Kurdish media, Antar was killed Wednesday in a fight between her military unit and Daesh terrorists near the recently liberated city of Minbic, about a mile from the Syrian border with Turkey. Antar reportedly tried to stop an attack by three Daesh suicide bombers who drove cars at the Kurdish frontline position.

YPJ spokeswoman Commander Shirin Abdullah explained that Antar and her compatriots blew up two of the cars but the last was very close when it exploded. Abdullah commented that Antar didn't mind being compared to Angelina Jolie but preferred that the comparison be made in relation to the Jolie's activism, social work and care for victims of violence and poverty worldwide.

The death of Antar was first announced on the "We Want Freedom For Kurdistan" Facebook page. In the comments she was described as a fierce fighter and a hero.

Currently, about 50,000 troops fight with YPG, and some 20 percent are women.