Female fighter pilot leads UAE mission against ISIS in Syria

The UAE has officially confirmed that its mission against Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria was led by Major Mariam Al Mansouri, the Emirates' first female fighter pilot.

Speaking on the Morning Joe show on MSNBC, US Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said: "I can officially confirm that the UAE strike mission on Monday night was led by female fighter pilot Mariam Al Mansouri."

"She is a fully qualified, highly trained, combat-ready pilot and she led the mission," he said.

This June 13, 2013 photo provided by the Emirates News Agency, WAM, shows Mariam Al Mansouri, the first Emirati …

Al Mansouri, 35, graduated from Abu Dhabi's Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in 2007 and is a veteran pilot of F-16 warplanes.

In an interview with The National earlier this year, Al Mansouri said: "It was my aspiration. Ever since I finished high school, I wanted to learn flying because it was something that I liked in the first place.”

She was born in Abu Dhabi and graduated from high school before completing a degree in English literature from UAE University.

This June 13, 2013 photo provided by the Emirates News Agency, WAM, shows Mariam Al Mansouri, the first Emirati …
The UAE joined four other Arab nations -  Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain - and the United States to launch strikes against members of ISIS in Syria.