ISIS jihadis have threatened to forcibly marry any female fighters they manage to capture in a message delivered to the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga.
Speaking
exclusively to MailOnline, Colonel Nahida Ahmad Rashid, commanding
officer of the 2nd Battalion Peshmerga Female, said that the jihadis
even plan to wed women they are 'disgusted' by.
'The message said that whenever they catch any Peshmerga woman, they will marry them,' she explains.
Fighting on: Col. Rashid and her troops have instead vowed to kill as many ISIS jihadis as possible
'Even if they are disgusted by her, they will marry her. Even if they don't want to use them. Still, marriage.'
But
Colonel Rashid says she and her troops have other ideas and revealed
that she has asked fighters to keep a spare bullet to hand in case of
capture.
'I
have told all my frontline soldiers to keep one bullet in their pocket
in case they are captured,' she reveals. 'I never want any of them to be
captured by ISIS.'
So
far, Colonel Rashid and her fighters have not needed to use their spare
bullets, although she says that other PKK [Kurdistan Worker's Party]
soldiers fighting in the Syrian town of Kobane have been forced to do
so.
'Last
week, one of the PKK fighters found herself alone and surrounded by
ISIS after all her friends had been killed. She shot herself rather
than let them take her.'
On the frontline: Col. Rashid greets one of her captains during a visit to the frontline in Iraq
No messing: Peshmerga fighters such as this lady say they will fight ISIS to their very last drop of blood
Orders: Fighters have been told to keep a spare bullet to use on themselves in case of capture by ISIS
Unstoppable: Col. Rashid says her troops are better than those deployed by ISIS but their weapons are worse
The
Kurdish Peshmerga is famous for its use of female soldiers, all of whom
battle alongside their male counterparts on the frontline.
As
a result, they are on the sharp end of the fight against ISIS who,
according to Colonel Rashid, are particularly terrified of women
fighters because they believe that men dispatched by women won't go to
Paradise.
'ISIS
are real hypocrites,' she sniffs, disdainfully. 'They think if they are
killed by women Peshmergas, they aren't going to go to heaven. '
'They want to make us submissive but they are afraid of us so they are real hypocrites.'
But
if ISIS hope that their threats of forced marriage will make Colonel
Rashid and her fighters rethink their participation in battle, she has a
stern message for them - we will find you and when we do, we will kill
you.
'It
is a huge tragedy for me to see humans, in the 21st Century, torturing
and beheading people like ISIS do,' she adds. 'Until the day I die,
until the last drop of my blood, I will fight ISIS.
Training: Female Peshmerga fighters go through exactly the same training as their male counterparts
Equal: Col. Rashid says the only difference is that women don't use the very heaviest machine guns
Visit: Over the crest of the hill, hidden by blue tarpaulin, lurk a group of ISIS jihadis
Ready to fight: According to Col. Rashid, Peshmerga women never run away or refuse to fight
'I
find them indescribably disgusting. How would you feel if it was women
living near you who were being married off by force by ISIS? How would
you feel? They are doing the most disgusting things I have ever seen in
my life.'
She
also hit out at men who think women make less impressive fighters. 'On
the frontline, the only difference between a male peshmerga and us is in
the machine guns we use.
'The heaviest weapon we use is the 14.7mm. The men use heavier guns. Other than that, there are no differences between us.
'When
the enemy comes, you have a gun in your hand and you have to fight. If
you run back, they will kill you. If you don't fight, they will kill
you. You have to fight to survive.'
Dangerous: The Peshmerga have suffered relatively light casualties in Iraq so far
Plans: Sevres, a 22-year-old Peshmerga fighter, says she is happy that she's being deployed to the frontline
Clean up operation: Sevres says she and her friends will 'clean Iraq of dirty ISIS' jihadis
What's more, she says, she has no shortage of volunteers willing to join her force - including her own 10-year-old daughter.
'She
is just 10 but she wants to become a Peshmerga,' she chuckles. 'She
says she wants to take revenge on ISIS for all the things they have done
to children.'
One
who feels the same is a 22-year-old fighter named Sevres. A newcomer to
frontline life, she says she is hugely proud of her country and will
fight to defend it whatever the cost.
She
too has little time for ISIS and describes their thoughts on female
fighters as 'freakish', saying that along with her husband, she plans to
kick them out of Iraq.
'I
feel very sad about the things they [ISIS] do and the threats they have
made against us women if they capture or kidnap us. But my priority now
is to defend my country, not listen to what they say.'
Ominously, she adds: 'I am so happy that I am going to defend my country. I am going to clean the place of dirty ISIS.'
Tough guys: Two male Peshmerga fighters prepare to defend their land against ISIS in Taza
Battle: The Kurds say they need better weapons but will fight on against ISIS anyway
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