Dubai: The news about an Emirati woman pilot carrying out airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria garnered wide online attention on Wednesday. The news turned Mariam al Mansouri into an overnight star on social networking websites.
“Take that, sexist terrorists! UAE ladies raining down equality from above” said @ArabScarab, an Abu Dhabi-based foreign policy professor, on her Twitter account on Thursday.
Take that #ISIS : Mariam Mansouri, 1st female Air Force pilot in #UAE joined striking team in #Syria campaign pic.twitter.com/aMeVNVIcGu
Major Mariam Al Mansouri, has been reported to be a first woman to join the Emirati Air Force, who was leading a team in at least one US-led coalition airstrike against jihadists in Syria on Wednesday.
Virtual applause for Mansouri has taken off on sites like Twitter as international support for a military intervention against the Islamic State (IS) militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, grows.
Five Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have joined the United States in hitting IS group targets from the skies in Syria and Iraq.
The Pentagon confirmed that the strikes, which also hit an IS group checkpoint, involved aircraft from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Prince Khaled bin Salman the son of the heir to the Saudi Arabian throne has also put the royal seal of approval on the attacks against Islamic State militants, by taking part in bombing runs.
