Sheen Ibrahim, Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) stands on a roof top in Raqqa, Syria June 16, 2017. Goran Tomasevic, Reuters
Michael Georgy and John Walcott, Reuters: New conflicts threaten Syria after Islamic State defeat
RAQQA, Syria/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sheen Ibrahim's track record fighting ultra-hardline militants explains U.S. President Donald Trump's policy of arming Syrian Kurds like her as he seeks to eradicate Islamic State. It also highlights the risks.
Taught by her brother to fire an AK-47 at 15 and encouraged by her mother to fight for Syrian Kurdish autonomy, she says she has killed 50 people since she took up arms in Syria's six-year-old civil war, fighting first al Qaeda, then crossing into Iraq to help Kurds there against Islamic State.
Now 26, she leads a 15-woman unit hunting down the hardline group in its global headquarters Raqqa, speeding through streets once controlled by the militants in a pick-up truck as fellow fighters comb through ruined buildings for booby traps.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 30, 2017
Syria war: Why the battle for Raqqa is far from won -- Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC News
Mosul’s fall won’t stop Islamic State spreading fear -- Mohamad Bazzim, Reuters
The fall of Mosul is a defeat for Isis, but it remains a deadly force -- Patrick Cockburn, The Independent
ISIS’s Caliphate Is Collapsing, But Don’t Celebrate Just Yet -- Jonah Shepp, NYMag
Saudi Arabia is Weakening US Influence in the Middle East -- Federico Pieraccini, Strategic Culture
The Only Way Out of the Qatar Crisis -- Ahmed Charai, National Interest
A Cold War Turning Hot in the Middle East -- Mohammed Ayoob, The Strategist
What's the secret behind Australia's unbroken growth? -- Insa Wrede, DW
Is a New China-Vietnam Maritime Crisis Brewing in the South China Sea -- The Diplomat
Moving from a Sunshine to Sunburn Policy on North Korea -- Frank Aum and S. Nathan Paski, 38 North
Here’s Trump’s Chance to Recommit to the Vital Alliance With South Korea -- Bruce Klingner, Heritage Foundation
Four Downward Turns in U.S.-Russian Relations -- Pavel K. Baev, Eurasia Daily Monitor
We were warned about Russia – but didn’t listen -- Edward Lucas, CapX
Germans Should Accept What a Military is For, or Get Used to Dissappointment -- Mario Schulz, War On The Rocks
How Liberal Portland Became America’s Most Politically Violent City -- Casey Michel, Politico
Counter-terrorism was never meant to be Silicon Valley's job. Is that why it's failing? -- Olivia Solon, The Guardian
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