Canadian woman who went to Syria to fight alongside Kurdish army 'has been captured by jihadists'

• Gill Rosenberg, 31, left to fight in Syria with all-female Peshmerga unit
• Jihadist sources say she was captured in contested town of Kobane
• Canadian government says it is investigating the reports

By Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline

Published: 23:17 EST, 30 November 2014 | Updated: 00:09 EST, 1 December 2014

A Canadian woman who flew to Syria to join the fight against ISIS has reportedly been captured.

Gill Rosenberg, 31, left North America to join the ranks of the Kurdish Peshmerga fighting force, which has elite all-female units.

Rosenberg, a joint citizen of Israel who served in the Israeli Defense Force, went to fight against the so-called Islamic State earlier this month, while they were locked in combat over Kobane, a town on the Turkey-Syria border.

'Captured': Gill Rosenberg, a Canadian with dual Israeli citizenship, was reportedly taken with other female fighters at the Turkish-Syrian border

Before: Rosenberg, who went to Syria earlier this year, is pictured above before she left

Military history: Rosenberg, pictured in uniform, was formerly a member of the Israeli Defense Force

She had earlier posted on social media explaining her decision to go and fight, declaring she sympathized with the Kurds, whose territory has come under heavy assault.

Her position in the Israeli military is thought to have been a non-combat role.

But, according to the Times of London, militant sources have written online that Rosenberg was captured, along with several other female Peshmerga fighters.

She was reportedly taken hostage on Friday, when ISIS members hit Kobane with several suicide car bombs.

A spokesman for the Canadian foreign ministry said the government is 'aware of reports that a Canadian citizen was kidnapped in Syria.'

Allies: Female Peshmerga soldiers are seen preparing for battle in Syria, near the front lines with ISIS

War-torn: Rosenberg and her allies were captured in Kobane, near the Turkish border, according to jihadist websites

'Canada is pursuing all appropriate channels to seek further information and officials are in close contact with local authorities.'

According U.S.-based jihadist monitoring group SITE, militants were messaging one another online about whether it would be better to execute Rosenberg or attempt to trade her for prisoners held by the West.

However, some sources have cast doubt on the idea that she is in the area at all.

IS jihadists began advancing on Kobane on September 16, hoping to quickly seize the small town and secure its grip on a large stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border, following advances it made in Iraq.

At one point, it looked set to overrun the town, but Kurdish Syrian fighters, backed by coalition air strikes and an influx of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, have held back the group.