A 20-year-old British chef from West Sussex, England, turned ISIS fighter, fighting alongside the Kurdish YPG in Syria, took his own life to avoid capture by the Islamic State.
Ryan Lock died during an offensive by anti-ISIS fighters to liberate a village near the ISIS capital Raqqa in northern Syria.
During the battle, the young Brit was surrounded by ISIS militants and apparently “turned the gun on himself” and committed suicide to avoid falling captive, in what is described as an act of “outstanding bravery in the face of a barbaric enemy,” by his Kurdish comrades.
Lock had told his family that he was going on holiday, when in fact he was going to fight ISIS.
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The Sun reports:
BBC sources revealed that a “trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin” of the 20-year-old, suggesting suicide.
The YPG source added: “It seems that the British fighter committed suicide in order not to fall captive with ISIS”.
Lock, from Chichester in West Sussex, died on December 21 during a battle for the so-called Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.
He was fighting as part of the Kurdish militia, itself deemed a terror organisation by Turkey, whose forces nearly killed him weeks before his death.
In a tragic final Facebook post telling of the Turkish attack, Lock wrote: “We were taking a small village when we got hit by Turkish jets in the night.
“Two of my friends, Anton and Michael, were killed among many others.”
Despite almost losing his own life, Ryan vowed: “I’m staying to finish out my six months.”
Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell from KurdishQuestion.com told BBC South: “Ryan Lock may very well have turned his own gun upon himself rather than be taken prisoner by ISIS.
“I personally believe he deserves the very highest of military honours for such outstanding bravery in the face of such a barbaric enemy.”
The young chef told his family he was off to Turkey on holiday. They later discovered he had signed up with the YPG.
Ryan’s last catering job before he left the UK in the summer was serving up roasts at a posh Hampshire wedding.