Joanna Palani | |
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Born | 1993 (age 30–31) Ramadi, Iraq |
Allegiance | |
Service/ | |
Battles/wars | War against the Islamic State |
Joanna Palani (born 1993[1]) is a Danish woman of Kurdish background who fought for the Kurdish People's Defence Units (YPG) against ISIS, including as a sniper.[2] Palani's family is originally from Iranian Kurdistan, and she was born in a refugee camp in Ramadi in Iraq during the first Gulf War. Her family subsequently got asylum in Denmark when she was still a child. In 2014, she dropped out of a political science degree to fight in the YPG in Northern Syria and Peshmerga forces in Iraq after the rise of ISIS.[3] She first went to Rojava in Syria, where she fought alongside the YPG for six months, and then joined the Peshmerga for another six months.[4]
She was taken into custody on her return to Denmark.[5][6][7] Palani is frequently the target of vicious threats, both online and offline, since her return to Denmark.[3]
She has published an account of her experience: Freedom Fighter: My War Against ISIS on the Frontline of Syria.[8]