British chef killed fighting Isis alongside Kurdish forces in Syria
Ryan Lock, 20, left for Syria in August after telling friends and family he was going to Turkey on holiday
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Your support makes all the difference.A British former chef has been killed while fighting Isis alongside Kurdish forces in Syria.
Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, died last month during an offensive against the Isis-held city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital.
He was killed on 21 December, two months before he intended to return to the UK, his family and Kurdish activists said.
Mr Lock, who had no military background, left for Syria in August after telling his friends and family he was going to Turkey on holiday.
In a message posted to Facebook on 31 August, he wrote: “I’m on my way to Rojava. I lied about going to Turkey.
"I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone. I love all of you and I will be back in six months.”
Once there, he joined the People's Defence Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia fighting Isis.
In a letter to his family, a spokesperson for the YPG said: “Ryan joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that Isis caused upon Rojava, Kurdistan.
"Here, on the dark hours of 21 December 2016, we lost our brave companion Ryan and four other fighters in Jaeber village."
It added: “Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters.
"While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our frontlines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava.
"He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity.”
In a statement sent to The Guardian, Mr Lock's father said: “Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone.
"He had a heart of gold. We ask for privacy to allow our family to grieve.”
The YPG is backed by the United States, who consider them to be their most effective allies in the fight against Isis.
Mr Lock is one of several young men and women from the UK to join the fight against Isis after they seized control of vast swathes of Syria and Iraq and declared its caliphate in 2014.
He is the third Briton to be killed fighting alongside Kurdish forces.
Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25, a former Royal Marine from Barnsley in south Yorkshire, died from a mortar wound while fighting Isis militants in March 2015.
Dean Carl Evans, 22, from Reading, was killed during an offensive to take back the city of Manbij from Isis in August 2016.
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