British ‘HERO’ shot himself in the head to avoid capture by ISIS terrorists in Syria

An inquest in England has heard a man fighting ISIS shot himself to avoid being captured and beheaded. Ryan Lock was fighting with Kurdish forces near Raqqa in Syria in December.

Mr. Lock, 20, from Chichester, had joined up with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which was fighting ISIS in northern Syria.

In July, ISIS confirmed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been killed by a Russian airstrike in Raqqa in June.

The coroner, David Horsley, recorded a narrative verdict and said Mr. Lock suffered a leg wound which made him vulnerable to capture and shot himself to avoid failing into the hands of a “cruel and ruthless” enemy.

Mr. Lock, a chef who had never had any military training, traveled to Turkey in August 2016, and told his family he was on holiday.

He then revealed he was not backpacking through Turkey, but had joined up with the YPG, initially as a chef and medic.

His mother, Catherine, said she “absolutely panicked” and was shocked.

He kept in touch with his family via Facebook Messenger, but never admitted he was actually in combat.

“Deep down, there were things setting off alarm bells, but I wasn’t getting the answers,” she said.

She said she told him: “I’m proud of you, but for God’s sake come home safely.”

Mrs. Lock told the inquest her son was obviously troubled by the situation in Syria before he left.

Source: Sputnik