Political activist Kimberley Taylor is believed to be the first woman to travel to Syria to fight so-called Islamic State.
The 27-year-old from Blackburn has left the UK last March to join the Women's Protection Units, the all-female affiliate army of the People's Protection Units of Syrian Kurdistan, according to The Guardian.
Kimberley told the publication that she has spent the last 11 months since her departure learning Kurdish, local politics and culture, and weaponry at the Women's Protection Units.
"I'm willing to give my life for this," she said from her base 19 miles from Raqqa - which has been the terror group's defacto capital since 2014.
"It's for the whole world, for humanity and all oppressed people, everywhere. It's not just [Isis's] killing and raping.
"It's its systematic mental and physical torture on a scale we can't imagine."
Ms Taylor first travelled to Syria 18 months ago where she reported on the first anniversary of the massacre in Sinjar, Iraq, during which thousands of Yazidis were killed or enslaved.
Explaining her motivation towards her fight against IS, she recalled a story about a Syrian friend whose village was destroyed by Islamic State fighters last year.
"She was from a pro-Assad family and her eight-year-old sister wrote on a wall: 'Without our leader, there is no life'," she continued. "She did it as a protest against Isis (IS).
"So they took her to a tall building and ran her over and over again with a car. Then, with the last one pushed her off the building. My friend ran away to join the YPJ."
Taylor's role - beside fighting - is to report from the battlefield, and take photos and record videos of the action on the front line.
"Actually most of the time I'm not doing any videos at all, but fighting with the unit when we come under attack," Taylor added.
She admitted that she didn't tell her family about her decision to join the war-zone until she arrived, but conceded: "I want to get in there because this is something in my heart. I need to do it."
British fighter Ryan Lock was killed in the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa. He was a 20-year-old chef from West Sussex with no military experience, who was described by his family as a "very caring and loving boy".
Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.
