A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A woman carries wood logs, which she will use to keep herself warm in winter. The price of fuel is very high in the kurdish areas, especially Afrin, and many cannot afford to heat their homes.

The central governing office of the Afrin canton.

A homeless woman with her children on the streets of Afrin.

Refugees from surrounding areas arrive in Afrin. Afrin has become a refuge for civilians fleeing nearby ISIS, Nusra, and government held areas.

The mother of YPG fighter Lareen Merkan (in framed photo), who was the first Kurdish suicide bomber in Kobane. Lareen sacrificed herself in an ISIS controlled area in the eastern side of the city to save her comrades from an ambush in which they were trapped.

Lareen has three brothers that are now in the YPG. Lareen returned from training in the Qandil mountains of Iraq a year ago and then went to participate in the battle for Kobane. Despite her sorrow, her mother remains proud of her daughter.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A female YPG commando fighter in Afrin. Afrin is one of three Syrian-Kurdish cantons controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The other two are Kobane, which is currently under ISIS siege, and Qamishle, which is located near the borders of Turkey and Iraq.

YPG base in Afrin.

Busayna, the leader of the YPG commando training camp.

Busayna arrived from PKK bases in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq to offer her expertise the fighters in Afrin

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

The forested, hilly terrain of the areas around Afrin provide good training ground for YPG trainees.

This camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.

A YPG commando training camp located on the outskirts of Afrin. The camp is managed by a woman named Busayna. She leads the training and supervises the camp.

During training, the women wake up at 5am. They attend lessons and then they apply what they learn practically. The fighters in the pictures belong to the rapid response unit. They enter war zones as a specialized group, using heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Doshkas, and cannons.