Sheren Khalel

Sheren Khalel is an independent journalist who has covered Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. She focuses on human rights and women's issues and the Palestine/Israel conflict. Khalel formerly worked for Ma'an News Agency in Bethlehem, and is currently based in Ramallah and Jerusalem. Follow Sheren on Twitter: @Sherenk

Meet Richard Jones, An American Citizen Fighting ISIS In Syria

An Atlanta native says an article on ISIS raping women and selling them into sex slavery inspired him to join the fight against the militant group in Syria. “I didn’t know if I would be successful here,” he tells MintPress, “but I knew I would hate myself for not trying.”

Sheren Khalel
Matthew Vickery
By Sheren Khalel
And Matthew Vickery
Richard Jones

RAS AL-AYN, Syria --- At a military complex in the Kurdish Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, Richard Jones, an American citizen, stands guard with a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the ready. Jones has been in Syria for two months, volunteering to fight with the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. He’s

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VIDEO: Mount Sinjar’s Yazidis Are Armed And Ready For The Fight Against ISIS

In an internally displaced persons camp atop Mount Sinjar in Iraq, Yazidis tote Kalashnikovs and strap ammunition to their chests. ISIS has tried, but not succeeded in destroying the people of an ancient ethnic and religious group — a people who vow to protect themselves.

Matthew Vickery
Sheren Khalel
By Matthew Vickery
And Sheren Khalel
Yazdi

MOUNT SINJAR, Iraq --- Blue and white tents line the top of Mount Sinjar, communities of the displaced clustered together by tribes on the flattened peak. While most fled, around 10,000 Yazidis refused to abandon their ancient homeland on Sinjar Mountain when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) tore through the mountain community six months

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VIDEO: Fight Against ISIS In Syrian Province Crosses Religious And Ethnic Lines

“ISIS doesn’t want us to be together, yet we have been living all of these years together, Muslim and Christian, and nothing happened, everything was fine, but now ISIS – they don’t want that,” one member of the militia fighting for an inclusive democracy tells MintPress.

Matthew Vickery
Sheren Khalel
By Matthew Vickery
And Sheren Khalel
A Dwekh Nawsha militia member sits on top of a tombstone inside a 200-year-old monastery in the Christian village of Bakufa, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014. Dwekh Naswha, or "self sacrifice" in Assyrian, is a Christian militia recently formed by volunteers to protect Christian territories in the Nineveh Province in Iraq. (AP/Bram Janssen)

AL-HASAKAH PROVINCE, Syria --- Saed Jabar sits cross-legged on the floor of a small dark room. Above him hangs a wall-sized portrait depicting the famous biblical scene of the Last Supper in delicate detail. The electricity just went out again, a common occurrence in Syria over the past three and a half years of civil war. Jabar, seemingly so

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VIDEO: MintPress Gathers Around The Campfire With Female Guerrillas Fighting ISIS

“A woman has every right to protect her rights and her people. This is an honor for us to fight for our country,” one guerrilla fighter says, explaining that while the concept of female fighters may seem “weird” to some, it’s “more than normal.”

Matthew Vickery
Sheren Khalel
By Matthew Vickery
And Sheren Khalel
Acommander of the Kurdish womenís self-defense force, known by its Kurdish acronym YPJ, takes a break in Kobani, Syria. (AP/Jake Simkin)

TELL HAMIS, Syria --- Zatlaan bends down around a fledgling fire, blowing the kindling carefully, willing the damp pile of scrap wood to catch. Zatlaan -- who asked that only her first name be used -- is completely decked out in camouflage, spare a colorful traditional scarf wrapped tightly around her head. The dozen women leaning into the heat

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Meet The Man Smuggling Prospective ISIS Recruits Across The Turkey-Syria Border

Smoking hookah, running a cafe, vetting ISIS hopefuls and smuggling them back and forth across the Turkey-Syria border — MintPress News finds that it’s all in a day’s work for Abu Mustafa.

Sheren Khalel
Matthew Vickery
By Sheren Khalel
And Matthew Vickery
Turkey Syria ISIS 2

AKÇAKALE, Turkey --- Mohammed Abu Mustafa spends most of his days puffing sweet-smelling tobacco smoke out of a traditional hookah, or waterpipe, in his small café in the Turkish border town of Akçakale. Sitting at one of the worn-down tables messily assembled outside, Abu Mustafa fixes his eyes on the nearby six-foot-tall chain link fence

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Homeless Syrian Refugees Eking Out An Income On The Streets Of Istanbul

Washing windows, selling packets of tissues, stretching out an open hand to passersby — Syrians who have fled to Turkey from the ongoing chaos at home find themselves doing anything just to get by.

Matthew Vickery
Sheren Khalel
By Matthew Vickery
And Sheren Khalel
Turkey Syria

ISTANBUL --- It’s been almost a year since 9-year-old Ibrahim Khader, and his 7-year-old brother, Ahmad, have gone to school. Both boys grew up in Aleppo, Syria, and survived the intense fighting there by fleeing with their families from one place to another before finally arriving in Istanbul. Khader says that when he arrived in Istanbul and saw

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VIDEO: Kobani Residents Remain Defiant As Battle Rages In Their Hometown

As the battle for Kobani intensifies and the world takes notice, the people of Kobani can only wait. Many gather on a hilltop in a Turkish border town, their hometown’s fate out of their hands but still within sight.

Matthew Vickery
Sheren Khalel
By Matthew Vickery
And Sheren Khalel

SURUC, Turkey --- Ali watches smoke rise up out of his hometown in Kobani, Syria, from a hilltop on the Turkish border, a little over a mile away. Explosion after explosion pops off in succession, followed by the quick “tick-tick-tick” of AK-47 assault rifles. Ali, a Muslim man who asked to be referred to only by his first name, is anxious: He’s

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