A British volunteer fighting ISIS in Syria reportedly killed himself to avoid being captured

A British man who had volunteered with the Kurds to fight ISIS in Syria reportedly killed himself after getting surrounded by militants.

Ryan Lock, 20, from West Sussex, sustained a leg injury while fighting in Raqqa on Dec. 21 before getting surrounded by ISIS fighters, The Guardian reported. He then shot himself to avoid getting captured.

The YPG told the BBC that a “trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin.”

In August, Lock told his mom that he was going backpacking in Turkey, and only later told her that he had volunteered with the YPG, Sky News reported.

Lock had previously worked as a chef, and had had no military training, Sky News said. The YPG, however, provided him with some training, and he posted on Facebook that he had been trained to use a sniper rifle and night vision goggles, the Guardian said.

The Guardian reported that he was a “quiet and reserved” man who liked to play military video games. But he was also “quite political,” his mom, Catherine, said.

 

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of Rojava Defense Units