The UAE's first female air force pilot, Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, led a strike mission over Syria this week against the Islamic State, something many felt was the ultimate rebuke to the terror group's ultraconservative philosophy.
The 35-year-old al-Mansouri was part of a run that dropped bombs on Islamic State positions in Syria's Idlib, Aleppo, and
Raqqa provinces, according to The Washington Post.
Some reports suggested that she may have even spearheaded her country's mission, which complemented the parallel efforts of four other Arab states backing the United States, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar, the newspaper noted.
"The symbolism of a female fighter pilot bringing the heat to the women-enslaving Islamic State ought be lost on no one and is useful propaganda for the Emiratis," The Post reported.
"To that end, Saudi Arabia also released pictures of its pilots who took part in airstrikes, including Prince Khaled bin Salman, the son of the kingdom's crown prince. Long blamed for their listlessness and inaction, the kingdoms of the Gulf may try to change their image in the ongoing campaign," the paper continued.
United Arab Emirates Ambassador
Yousef Al Otaiba told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this week that his country decided to get involved because they believe ISIS (the popular acronym for the Islamic State) poses as much of threat to them as the United States.
"It's important for us — moderate Arabs, moderate Muslims — to step up and say this is a threat against us," he said. "This is more of a threat against us than it is against you. This is not just a threat to our countries. This is a threat to our way of life."
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