British citizen killed in Syria fighting alongside Kurds against Islamic State group

IRBIL, Iraq – A Kurdish commander says a British citizen fighting alongside his forces against the Islamic State group has been killed in Syria.

Redo Khalil, a commander in the YPG militia, said Wednesday the British man, Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, was shot dead March 2 in the front-line village of Tel Khuzela. Another foreign fighter battling with the Kurds, American Jordan Matson, says he is with the body and working on getting the remains back to Britain.

Several foreign fighters have traveled to Syria and neighboring Iraq to fight with Kurdish militias battling the Islamic State group. At least one other foreign fighter, Australian Ase Johnson, is known to have been killed.

The Islamic State group includes thousands of foreign fighters from Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East.