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Pictured
FEMME FATALES

Amazing pics show gun-wielding female soldiers who have taken up arms for Israel

The female-dominated Caracal Batallion patrols the country's restless border with Egypt

THESE revealing images offer a unique insight into the training of a female-dominated Israeli army battalion tasked with patrolling the restless Egyptian border.

Caracal Battalion, the country’s first to have male and female soldiers fighting side-by-side, is formed of between 60 and 70 per cent women.

IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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An Israeli soldier checks her weaponCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Recruits take part in a training day in Azuz, IsraelCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Take aim....an IDF soldier gets to grips with her weaponCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Lock and load....female soldiers prime their weapons for actionCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Ready for action - the IDF girls are ready to go to workCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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In her sights...an IDF soldier aims her weaponCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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This is how you do it....recruits learn how to fire a gunCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Recruits clean their weapons during downtime between exercisesCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Attention! Recruits line up on a firing range in AzuzCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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The soldiers practice every dayCredit: Getty Images

The pictures show soldiers practising as part of their daily combat training in the village Nitzana, western Israel.

Based in the Negev desert, the battalion was formed in 2000 following mounting public pressure to allow women to serve in combat positions within the Israeli armed forces.

The unit was named after the caracal, a desert cat that is mainly found across Africa, Central Asia, Southwest Asia and India, whose gender is barely distinguishable.

IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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The recruits train in Azuz, in the Negev desertCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
20
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Up tpo 70 per cent of the Caracal Battalion are womenCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
20
The female-dominated Caracal Batallion patrols the border with EgyptCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
20
Young soldiers check their weapons during the training exerciseCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
20
Aim and fire....recruits on the firing rangeCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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A young woman learns how to prepare her gun to fireCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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Watch and learn...an IDF recruit eyes up his targetCredit: Getty Images
IDF's Mostly Female Combat Unit Attend Training Day in Azuz
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The girls volunteer to become combat soldiers after conscription–military service is compulsory for all Israeli citizens–and must go through two days of mental examination and physical challenges before joining – since the course is strenuous and identical to that of any exclusively male battalion.

According to the Israel Defence Forces blog, the unit patrols the border with Egypt, protecting it from “smugglers, infiltrators and terrorists”.

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