The woman sniper of Syria: Rebel fighter nicknamed 'Guevara' takes revenge on Assad’s troops after her children were killed in airstrike

Former English teacher turned sniper is known as Guevara

The 36-year-old is a sniper on the front line in Aleppo, Syria



Her two children, 7 and 10 were killed in an airstrike last year

Guevara has opposed the al-Assad regime since university days

With neatly plucked eyebrows, leather boots with heels and a gold bracelet, 'Guevara' as she has become known is the last person you'd expect to find looking down the sight of a sniper rifle in the middle of a bloody civil war.

But a former English teacher has found unlikely fame on the streets of Syria's largest city becoming known to many residents as 'the female sniper'.

Dressed in a jumper dress, hijab and green khaki trousers, Guevara, named after the Argentine revolutionary, sits hidden in a war damaged building waiting for a sight of the enemy - government troops.

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War-torn: The female sniper, known simply as Guevara, stalks the streets of Alleppo with her rifle

Treacherous: Guevara moves from one sniper position to get a better vantage point. She says that she waits for hours to get a sight of a government soldier

Take aim: The 36-year-old looks down the sight of her rifle. She fights against government soldiers following the death of her two children who were killed in an airstrike

Danger: The former English teacher first picked up a weapon at a training camp run by Palestinian militant group Hamas

Although fighting is not often considered the right way to behave for a woman in a conservative Muslim country, Guevara holds her own in a group of fellow fighters - some 30 men and boys.

And she claims to be happy in her unusual and dangerous role.

She told the Telegraph : 'I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba [rebel division] has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge.'

The 36-year-old is motivated by the death of her children several months ago, a daughter aged 10 and a son aged seven.

The pair were killed when an airstrike hit the family home.

Now she says she feels compelled to kill a government soldier every time she learns of the death of one of her fellow rebel fighters.

Patience: Guevara watches the enemy lines through her sniper sight on the frontline in Salah Addeen

The job, she says, takes patience, speed and intelligence, and she often has to sit for hours waiting for civilians to clear the streets and government soldiers to take their place.

She watches soldiers and civilians trying to get on with their everyday lives from her hidden vantage point, but doesn't shoot until just the soldiers roam the streets.

And despite being unsure whether she has killed them or not, Guevara claims to have hit four or five soldiers.

'It makes you feel good. Whenever I hit one I shout "yes!",' she said.

Originally from Palestine, the sniper told the Telegraph that she first picked up a gun at a military training camp in Lebanon run by Palestinian militants from the Hamas group.

Smiling assassin: Guevara smiles for the camera on the front line in Alleppo

Even before the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime began in the spring of 2011, Guevara says that she was staunchly opposed to his rule, helping to create an underground opposition newspaper while studying at Aleppo University.

She was even part of an underground political party for Palestinians who met to plot the defeat of al-Assad's regime.

Her first marriage broke down because her husband was not revolutionary enough and she threatened to leave her new husband, the leader of her rebel brigade, when he initially refused to let her fight.

Despite her hardened attitude to her role, Guevara says that she sometimes wakes up crying in the night over the death of her children and the horrors she has seen.

She admits that she has seen more than 100 bodies in the last few months and has had several brushes with death herself, including one incident where a bomb exploded near a car she was travelling in.