News of Gruden's death was made public by the YPG (People's Protection Unit) through social media. The YPG regularly reports about fallen foreign fighters from its ranks after it notifies the relatives. The news of Gruden's death was published together with the news of the death of another YPG fighter - Dean Carl Evans from Great Britain.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still verifying the information. The Slovenian police cannot confirm the report. However, the news has been officially published by the YPG (People's Protection Unit) which is the most significant military force in Kurdish northern Syria.

Born in Ljubljana, died in Manbij
Gruden's Syrian "partisan" name was Rodî Çekdar. He fell fighting for the city of Manbij on the 27th of July. The YPG revealed data of its fallen martyrs via its communication channels. It says that Martin Gruden was born in Ljubljana. It also released other personal information verifying the identity of the Slovenian. According to Kurdish agency ANHA the YPG wrote that "they would continue the fight for which comrades Gruden and Evans had given their lives until the last drop of blood". The YPG has also offered its condolences to the relatives of the killed.

Fierce battles for the surrounded fortress of IS
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which make up the biggest part of the YPG, launched a wide offensive across the Euphrates river on the 31st of May. With the support of US air forces and the coalition against the Islamic State (IS), Kurdish fighters quickly surrounded the city of Manbij located in the north of the Aleppo province. The city with more than one hundred thousand inhabitants has been surrounded since the 4th of June. SDF forces are slowly taking over small neighborhoods of the city, but the so-called Daesh (Islamic State) has fortified itself well. At the same time the Islamic State has no chance of escaping from the city, which was once of the strongholds of the self-proclaimed caliphate.

U.S allies despite its connections with the PKK
With its good combating skills the YPG has not only become an ally of the United States and western powers, but has also accepted under its wings many volunteers from all around the world. It has now been confirmed that there are also Slovenians fighting together with the Syrian Kurds. The YPG is the military branch of the PYD party, a sister organization to the PKK - Kurdish Workers' Party, which is banned in Turkey. In accordance to its party convictions it declares all its fallen fighters – both Kurdish and foreign – martyrs in order to remember their sacrifice.