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Mancunian Actor Plays Ariana Grande Song Loud in Former ISIS Stronghold

Mancunian Actor Plays Ariana Grande Song Loud in Former ISIS Stronghold

A British actor who put his career on hold to fight ISIS has celebrated the liberation of Raqqa by playing Ariana Grande's 'Bang Bang' loud

Anonymous

Anonymous

A British actor who put his career on hold to fight ISIS has celebrated the liberation of a Syrian city by playing an Ariana Grande song in its main square on full blast.

This past weekend, proud Mancunian Michael Enright, 52, spontaneously played the US singer's smash 'Bang Bang' in the newly liberated Syrian city of Raqqa from his mobile phone while holding an AK47. As you do.

Raqqa had been a stronghold of Islamic State miitants in Syria until US-supported rebels recently liberated the city following four months of intense conflict.

Credit: ANF News

In a fierce interview with the Kurdish news agency ANF on Saturday, Enright said: "I thought that... because I am from Manchester and (ISIS) came to my city - they came to my city - and they tried to shut up Ariana Grande, that she would be the first one to sing."

Starting the song up on his phone, Enright added: "They didn't shut her up and they didn't shut Manchester up. She's singing Bang Bang, and you know what happened? We came and we did Bang Bang and you [ISIS] left, you ran away."

"Light is coming back here now, freedom is coming back here now and singing is coming back here. And Ariana, it's your first concert here, so there you go. God bless."

From CSI to YPG. Credit: ANF News

Enright, originally from Moss Side in central Manchester, previously held supporting roles in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, along with TV series such as Marvel's Agents of Shield and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

However, he left the glamour of Hollywood in 2015 when he volunteered to join the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria after seeing atrocious footage of ISIS executions.

Enright's tribute to Ariana Grande refers to the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017 when suicide bomber Salman Abedi targeted Grande's concert in the city, killing 22 people and injuring more than 100.

Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande. Credit: PA

Many of those attending the gig were young female fans of Grande, with the youngest victim, Saffie Roussos, dying at the age of just eight years old.

While Islamic State quickly looked to claim responsibility for Abedi's attack on the arena, this has not yet been confirmed.

Manchester Arena reopened last month with a benefit gig headlined by Oasis hero Noel Gallagher, after the band's song 'Don't Look Back in Anger' became an anthem for the city in the aftermath of the attack.

It takes a certain character to give up your job to fight in one of the world's deadliest warzones. So from one Manc to another, I'd like to say to Enright: stay strong, our kid.

WordsL Chris Ogden

Featured Image Credit: ANF News

Topics: World News, UK News, Ariana Grande, Manchester, ISIS