A British man killed by ISIS has been hailed as a martyr after he fought alongside Kurdish forces in Syria.
Dean Carl Evans, 22, volunteered to fight with the YPG group against the militants. He was killed on July 21 as part of an offensive by US-backed forces to retake the city of Manbij.
His father John Evans confirmed his son's death with a Facebook post on July 23. He wrote: "He was loved and will be missed by all his family and friends. RIP son.
"I would like to say a massive big thank you to all my friends and family who sent their condolence for the loss of my son. He would have been very proud and would have regarded you all as his brothers and sisters."
The YPG said Evans was a "martyr" with a "revolutionary and combative spirit on the front lines and always fought without hesitation to protect the people of this region".
Mark Campbell, a Kurdish activist with close links to the YPG, said: "As I understand it Dean was behind a wall when he was hit by an Isis bullet. A female YPG fighter came over to help him. As she was tending to his wound, an RPG rocket hit the wall and killed them both."
It is believed Evans had fought in Syria since April. Little else is known about Brit from Reading or his motivations for joining.
According to Campbell: "Dean had always wanted to join the British Army but was refused because he had asthma. He followed the rise of Isis and had very strong feelings about their barbarity.
"He wanted to stop them. So when he saw an opportunity to join an army fighting Isis, he joined the YPG," he told the Guardian.
A Foreign Office spokesman was unable to confirm his death but advised against any travel to Syria.
