Abu Layla was hit by an ISIS sniper in the countryside south of Manbrij, northern Syria. He was brought to hospital in Sulaimaniya, along with three other wounded, on Friday night but died of his wounds on Sunday.
His battalion, the North Sun Brigade, brought together Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen, united in their desire to expel the brutal Islamic State regime from their homes.
Abu Layla is perhaps best known for saving the life a trapped ISIS militant in Kobane on November 7, 2014. When asked why he would save the enemy, he stressed his humanitarian ideals.
“We want to show the world that we love humanity, opposite to ISIS who hate humanity and spread death wherever they go. So we’re going to get him out of here,” Abu Layla said smiling and pointing at an ISIS militant with legs trapped under the debris of a collapsed building, “medicate him and send him back to his family.”
Abu Layla was wounded in battle many times but always returned to continue the fight. On June 25, 2015, ISIS launched a suicide attack on Kobane. The ISIS attacks continued for several days, killing at least 220 civilians and 35 YPG fighters. An injured Abu Layla battled them from his own balcony, his crutches leaning against the railing beside him.
YPG forces are participating in an Arab-led offensive to rout ISIS from the Manbij pocket, along the Syria-Turkey border west of the Euphrates. It was in this offensive that Abu Layla was martyred.
