Brit fighting Isis in Syria killed while clearing mines

A British volunteer who travelled to Syria to fight Isis has been killed in Raqqa, a month after the city was liberated by Kurdish forces.

Ollie Hall was killed in an explosion in Raqqa on Saturday (25 November), where he is believed to have been clearing mines with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

The 24-year-old had been in Syria for only four months, Kurdish sources said.

Mark Campbell, co-chairman of the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign, said: "It is with deep regret and sorrow that I can confirm via Kurdish sources in Syria that Ollie Hall, a UK national who travelled to Syria in August to help in the liberation of the Isis city of Raqqa with the Syrian Democratic Forces, fell on 25 November from an explosion of ordnance left by Daesh after the liberation of the city."

He sent his "deepest sympathies" to Hall's family and friends, who have been informed of his death.

Hall is the second Briton to be killed while fighting Isis in recent months. In October, 24-year-old Jac Holmes, one of the longest-serving volunteers with YPG, was also killed while clearing mines in Raqqa.

On 20 October, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to which the YPG belongs, declared the "total liberation" of Raqqa, which had been in Isis' hands for over three years.

The British Foreign Office continues to advise people against travelling to Syria.

"The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria. As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria, it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and status of British nationals in the country," a spokesperson said.