Meet UAE's first female fighter pilot on mission to blast Islamic State into oblivion

Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot among the United Arab Emirates' forces took part in the airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, leading her country's mission to wipe out the extremist group. According to the Daily Express, Mansouri, 35, was one of the first three to join the Emirati air force when they began to admit women, after she graduated from flight school in 2007.

Dubbed "Lady Liberty", Mansouri served in UAE's army before she started training as a fighter pilot. The Abu Dhabi-born pilot was awarded the 'Pride of the Emirates' medal by the Emirati government earlier this year for excellence in her field.

Mansouri, on Monday, joined the US and other forces in an F-16 Desert Falcon as they conducted air strikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq. Mansouri, who raised quite a few brows with her fighter pilot debut, said that whenever a woman enters a male-dominated field they find the same hesitation, the same prejudice, the same stereotype. The female fighter pilot said that she had to improve herself by being determined and having skill and knowledge enough to prove that she can perform as skillfully as the men.