American Michael Israel, fighting under the nom de guerre Robin Agiri, and German Anton Leschek, also known as Zana Ciwan, were “martyred on November 24 as result of Turkish airstrikes on western Manbij” the council said in an official statement on Wednesday.
The local forces of northern Syria, both the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have attracted foreign volunteers from around the world to their fight against ISIS and goal of establishing a semi-independent region in Rojava based on the political ideals of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. Several have been killed.
According to the council, Israel joined the forces in July 2016 saying that he was there “to protect the peoples’ revolution of Rojava and fight enemies of the struggle.”
Leschek joined the Manbij Military Council in September 2016, reportedly saying “It’s a true fight in Rojava for me, because here people neither surrender to tyranny nor to terror. I will support this democratic revolution to the end.”
The SDF retook the city of Manbij from ISIS in mid-August. Security for the city is now being provided by the Manbij Military Council, formed by the SDF from local forces. Kurdish forces had remained in the city to provide training of the local forces, with the last of the YPG reportedly withdrawing from the city in mid-November.
Turkey objects to the presence of Kurdish forces west of the Euphrates River, including in Manbij, as Ankara deems the YPG a terrorist organization aligned with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The Turkish army and the Free Syrian Army, backed by Ankara, launched Operation Euphrates Shield in late August with the aim of clearing ‘terrorists,’ both ISIS and the YPG, from the Syrian-Turkish border area west of the Euphrates.
They are currently advancing on the town of al-Bab and after liberating that town, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to march on Manbij.
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