A 27-YEAR-OLD woman from Darwen is believed to be the first British woman to travel to Syria to fight against Islamic State.

Maths graduate Kimberley Taylor told The Guardian she had joined the YPJ, the female brigade of Kurdish military organisation, the People’s Protection Units.

She told the newspaper: “I am willing to give my life for this.”

In an interview with Sky News, Miss Taylor, also known as Kimmie, or Zilan Dilmar, said: “I see this as maybe a last step towards Daesh (Islamic State) being finished and for this reason it’s really important that we create diplomacy for outside.

“We take this chance now that everybody is listening to tell our ideology, to tell our revolution.”

She said the YPJ has a ‘huge influence’ on young girls.

She said: “For example, young girls at 16-years-old, they cut from their family, from all the expectations that their family give them, and they join the YPJ.

“It’s not just about joining to go to war, they join and they get education on politics, on the situation of the world, on poverty, on war, on patriarchy, on history, on all of those subjects that are connected to the problems that we see today in the world and especially in Kurdistan and Syria.”

Writing on her Facebook page, Miss Taylor, said: “Wake up call this morning at 4am when ISIS attacked our base.

“We put up an incredible fight for three hours.

“Just two friends slightly injured.

“I’m so proud to call these people my comrades.

“We fight with unconditional resistance.

“I won’t go into details about the attack because it’s super gory.

“Another base was attacked, four comrades were martyred. At the very front, two comrades were martyred.

“You gave your lives for peace, democracy, and humanity.

“Your memory will live on in the revolution.”

The Guardian said Miss Taylor grew up in Darwen, before moving to Merseyside in her teens.

Her father Phil said: “I was upset in the first instance upon learning of Kimmie’s intentions to join the YPJ and worry about her safety.

“But to ask her not to follow her beliefs would be like asking her to cut her arm off.

“She just wants to change the world. An uncertain and divided world. Don’t we all?

“But where most of us think and talk about it, she acts. She is truly one in a million and we are very proud of who she is and what she stands for.”