German Median Empire Bikers Join Kobani Fighting Against Islamic State

German Median Empire Bikers Join Kobani Fighting Against Islamic State

Members of a German motorcycling gang have been fighting ISIS alongside Kurdish militia in Syria, according to 

their social media postings.

Earlier this month, the leader of Cologne-based Median Empire group -
a biker gang made up mainly Kurdish Germans - posted on Facebook a
photo of his brother posing alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
"While others blabber on, our guys are at the front and fighting against Isis," wrote the man identified by German media as Kawan A.


A few days later, he posted another picture in which two men sporting
a Median Empire black leather jacket can be seen as they walk in a
rural area, carrying firearms.
An accompanying message suggested the two had been active against militants in the northern Syrian town of Kobani, which has been at the centre of heavy fighting between ISIS forces and Kurdish troops in recent weeks.


"Our boys were in Kobani today and told me today they were shot at but nothing happened. They are okay," the posting read.


Median Empire is named after an ancient population that ruled over an
area spanning from northwestern Iran to southeastern Turkey.
The presence of members of the gang in conflict areas in the Middle East was first reported in April, as three bikers told Vice News they had travelled to a Syrian refugee camp in northern Iraq to help with humanitarian relief efforts.


"It's our families, it's our brothers and sisters," Median Empire's
Sargent at Arms, aka Fat Joe, a German of Kurdish descent. "We're here
in a better place so we try to give them a better situation, because we
know the feelings, what they're feeling right now."
Median Empire is not the only European motorbike gang reportedly fighting in Syria.


The Dutch bikers, who go by the name No Surrender, have also journeyed to Iraq to fight alongside Kurdish troops against IS militants.


Following the bikers' arrival, both German and Dutch nationals are
now fighting on both sides of the conflict as hundreds of radicals from
the two European countries are known to have joined IS, previously known
as Isis.