İsmail Özden

İsmail Özden (1952 – 15 August 2018), also known as Mam Zêki Shingali, was a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), famous for the leading role he played in the resistance to the conquest of Sinjar by ISIL. He was killed on 15 August 2018 in a Turkish Air Force airstrike.

Early life Ismail Özden was born in 1952 to Yazidi parents in Beşiri. He attended primary school in the village but dropped out of secondary school. In 1985 Özden travelled to the PKK training camps and met Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK's leader. By 1987 he was a ranking member of the PKK. Due to his prior experience with the Kurdish movement in Europe, Özden was sent back to Germany by the PKK. He remained in the area for about three and half hours. The airstrike did not begin during this time due to Özden's proximity to a large number of civilians. He left the meeting place at around 15:30 in an armored vehicle in a convoy of four cars, which was observed by air and land for approximately 20 minutes.