YPG

Washington’s main Syrian ally in the fight against Islamic State says the U.S. military will remain in northern Syria long after the jihadists are defeated, predicting enduring ties with the Kurdish-dominated region. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of militias dominated by the Kurdish YPG, believes the United States has a “strategic interest” […]

Set amid an increasingly violent environment of confrontation between Syrian Kurds and the Turkish government, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan has been upping the rhetoric against his Kurdish enemies in Syria, much to the delight of his political base at home. Speaking at a rally over the weekend, Erdogan said “We will take important steps to […]

US-backed Kurdish fighters battling ISIS in Syria released a video on Saturday showing them destroying a tank being used by Turkish-backed rebels in northwest Syria, Military Times first reported. “Today at about 9:30 am our forces targeted and destroyed a tank belonging to terrorist groups under the Turkish army’s command near Azaz hospital in Afrin’s Shera […]

A British man who had volunteered with the Kurds to fight ISIS in Syria reportedly killed himself after getting surrounded by militants. Ryan Lock, 20, from West Sussex, sustained a leg injury while fighting in Raqqa on Dec. 21 before getting surrounded by ISIS fighters, The Guardian reported. He then shot himself to avoid getting captured. The YPG told the […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A former Marine believed so strongly in the war against the Islamic State group that he secretly traveled to Syria, where he was killed this month while fighting for a Kurdish militia group. David Taylor, a 25-year-old former Florida resident, had kept his plans to join the Kurdish group a secret […]

The heavily armed fighters peered out of a broken second-story window at their outpost in a crumbling house on the western edge of this shell-shocked city, where Islamic State is fighting a furious battle to hold on to the capital of its self-declared caliphate. They ducked to avoid snipers camped in nearby high-rise apartments. Armed drones hovered […]

Turkey and the US-backed YPG forces — which have been helping the coalition fight ISIS in Syria — have been clashing off and on since at least April. At the end of that month, the two sides exchanged rocket fire, which Turkey says killed 11 YPG fighters. In early July, Turkey deployed troops to the Kurdish-held border […]

Two Americans were killed last week while fighting with US-backed Kurdish YPG units near Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital in Syria. Nicholas Alan Warden, 29, was killed July 5, and Robert Grodt, 28, was killed on July 6 in the same battle, the YPG said in press release on Tuesday. A British volunteer, Luke Rutter, 22, was […]

Turkey’s military returned fire against members of the Kurdish YPG militia near Syria’s Afrin region overnight, broadcaster Haberturk reported early on Wednesday, citing military sources. It was not clear whether there were any casualties. Turkish officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the report, which said Turkey’s military retaliated after YPG fighters opened […]

Last month we interviewed Erwin Stran on SOFREP radio about his time as a volunteer fighter with the Kurdish YPG militia in Northern Syria and then with the Peshmerga in Kurdistan.  Erwin has recently published a memoir about his time in the Middle East called “CAB Hunter.”  Below is a excerpt of the book that […]

BEIRUT — U.S.-backed forces have begun the “long and difficult” battle to capture the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital, the U.S.-led coalition fighting the extremist group said Tuesday. Kurdish-led militants began laying the groundwork for the ­offensive in November, edging through the surrounding province and cutting supply lines into the […]

The 75th Ranger Regiment describes itself as America’s premier raid force, with the missions of direct action, special reconnaissance, and forced entry operations such as airfield seizures.  However, the Ranger mission in Syria has taken a very different turn, one in which the Regiment is deployed as a political force to build rapport with allies […]