THE scourge of ISIS — a female Kurdish warrior who was credited with killing 100 jihadists — may have herself died in the desperate battle to prevent the city of Kobani falling into extremist hands. But her sisters-in-arms fight on.

The young woman, known only by the pseudonym ‘Rehana’, became world famous after a picture of her flashing a “V” for victory sign went viral on social media.

Rehana has killed more than a hundred #ISIS terrorists in #Kobane . RT and make her famous for her bravery pic.twitter.com/YvmfXMpuu1 — Pawan Durani (@PawanDurani) October 13, 2014

She was part of an unusual movement in the Islamic world: A 10,000 strong, fully female and officially sanctioned militia unit dedicated to defending Kurdish territory.

Most female Peshmerga fighters are trained as snipers.

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The unit was formed in April to combat the Islamic State’s extreme version of Islam which would have women locked up in their houses, only able to leave in the presence of their husbands.

It’s an idea foreign to the Kurdish culture.

“It’s not strange that women are fighting,” Wahida Kushta, an elderly Kobani woman told news organisation AP after preparing the body of a young female fighter for burial. “There is no difference between a lion and a lioness.”

Rehana’s exploits were eagerly followed by pro-Kurdish media, culminating in the boast that she had killed more than 100 Islamic State fighters in the desperate defence of the besieged city.

It was a boast which struck a raw nerve with Islamic State propagandists.

But Rehana is not alone. Reports suggest as many as one-in-three of Kobani’s defenders is a woman.

It’s a struggle that has come at a heavy price.

Recently, ISIS social media propagandists have circulated a gruesome picture purporting to show Rehana’s severed head — complete with long blonde hair — being held aloft in a victory salute by a bearded jihadist.

Pictures and video also have emerged of Kurdish defenders burying female fighters in Kobani. There was no indication Rehana was one of them.

Kurdish YPJ fighters in Cizre Canton holding a ceremony for Kobane martyrs. http://t.co/DIPQeIlyTp #TwitterKurds #Syria — A Dunon (@ArjDnn) October 26, 2014

There is no doubt the toll among the female defenders has been high.

The bloody 40-day battle for the city of Kobani has reportedly claimed more than 815 lives. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights today said the death toll includes 21 Kurdish civilians and 302 fighters with the main Kurdish force known as the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG. It said 481 fighters with the Islamic State group have been killed since the battles began.

Kurdish #YPJ fighters happy after airdrop of medicine and resupply anti isis thugs weaponry @StateDept pic.twitter.com/4DXzXYeZFh — . (@InfoTweepNL) October 20, 2014

US aircraft have recently been attempting to assist the resistance fighters, circling above the city in the chance of spotting Islamic State movements.

More than half the city is in jihadist hands, despite recent setbacks.

IS commanders have reportedly pulled troops back from Iraq as a result of the unexpectedly spirited opposition. The jihadists are being assembling them in their Syrian capital Aleppo under the leadership of red-headed Chechen commander Abu Omar al-Shishani. He is expected to lead them in an effort to relieve jihadists fighting in and around Kobane

Al-Shishani had been in command of fighters surrounding the mountains where ethnic Yezidi civilians had fled, sparking an international crisis and relief air-drop campaign.

If Kobani was to collapse under the Islamic State onslaught, the jihadists would gain control of a significant swathe of northern Syria.

ISLAM’S FEMALE FIGHTERS

“I lost many friends to this, and I decided there was a need to join up,” Afshin Kobani, a 28-year-old teacher now fighting on the front lines in Kobani, told AP at the weekend. “This is our land — our own — and if we don’t do it, who else will?”

The struggle of defending #Kobane against #ISIS thugs continues. One of Kurdish #YPJ fighters at war zone v @mergesor pic.twitter.com/VgdTIEMkxe — Amed News Agency (@AJANSAMED) October 22, 2014

She is now part of the Kurdish Peshmerga militia, which has an Independent Women’s Battalion (Yekineyen Parastina Jin), or Women Protection Units (YPJ)

Kurdish media states this group of “fearless and effective” women live and fight alongside their male counterparts.

If you are foe, we do not fear you. If you are friend, your foes will be taught the fear of us. #YPG #Kobane pic.twitter.com/OxnensF622 — Para Keta (@ParaKeta) October 14, 2014

“We are just the same as men; there’s no difference,” Afshin said. “We can do any type of job, including armed mobilisation.”

The unit gained international attention earlier this month when one of its 20-year-old fighters blew herself up as her position on the outskirts of Kobane was overrun, taking up to 20 Islamic State fighters with her.

Even though they look exhausted due to lack of sleep and food but they're determined to fight on #KOBANE #YPG #YPJ pic.twitter.com/sOMvnAMeX9 — Shwan⭐شوان (@Shwanaka) October 22, 2014

The battalion, sometimes called “Peshmergettes”, has a fully female chain of command. The detachment of the battalion fighting for the city of Kobane operates under its own female commander, Mayssa Abdo.

Number of weapons belonging to the #ISIS fighters were seized by our units of the #YPJ in #Kobane October 13 http://t.co/B9xYvDBF1e — Women Defense Units (@DefenseUnitsYPJ) October 13, 2014

“We can say that the Kobani resistance is in particular a women’s resistance,” Abdo recently told Kurdish media group, The Rojava Report. “In order to enter Kobani the ISIS gangs will have to pass over our corpses,”

Fighters in the volunteer force usually do not go under their own names, but instead use pseudonyms.

JIHADISTS FEAR DEATH BY WOMEN?

US Congressman Ed Royce told the US House International Relations Committee that Islamic State militants feared the “Peshmergettes” because they would strip them of their heavenly afterlife.

Fundamentalist jihadists fight believing their martyrdom on the battlefield will be rewarded with 72 virgins upon their arrival in heaven, he said. However, death at the hands of a woman is supposed to strip them of this God-given reward.

“And these female soldiers were communicating their satisfaction with the fact that they had taken the fight to ISIL and had stopped the advance, turned back the advance — slayed a number of these fighters, who would then run away,” he told the New York Post.

Everyone needs to help the Kurds. This is a matter of humanity. #TwitterKurds #Kobane pic.twitter.com/sJEPj9xv6M — Para Keta (@ParaKeta) October 25, 2014

It is a belief the Kurds have been exploiting in their own propaganda campaigns — even though its validity is hotly contested by extremist Islamic scholars.

“I think this has more to do with the fact that they have never come across women as determined and as courageous as us,” Kurdish fighter Bejan Ciyayi recently told the International Business Times.

A kurdish man in #Kirkuk buy weapon and teach his daughter and wife how to use it on #YPJ way #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/LEW6gxmKD5 — kovan direj (@kovandire) October 26, 2014

“IS see women as sex objects. And yes, this does motivate me when I fight against them. This is why I know IS is scared of us women in the YPJ. They know how they treat women, and they know we are aware of what they do and can feel our resentment and hatred of them. This is what makes us such big enemies.”