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Konstandinos Erik Scurfield

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Konstandinos Erik "Kosta" Scurfield (22 September 1989 – 2 March 2015)[1] was a former British Royal Marine who, in December 2014, left for Syria and joined the Kurdish YPG, a militia fighting against the Islamic State.[2][3][4] Scurfield, who was known by the Kurdish nom de guerre Sehid Kemal,[5] was of Greek descent. He volunteered and served six months in the Greek Army at the age of 20.[6] When he returned to the UK, he became a battlefield medic in the Royal Marines.[6] Retiring in September 2014, he got in contact with the YPG, flew to Syria to join them and arrived in December 2014. He immediately took part in the December 2014 Sinjar offensive.[6] His mother stated that he flew to Syria because "the Kurds are dying and our government's doing nothing".[6]

He was killed on 2 March 2015 by an ambush by the IS near the town Tel Hamis,[6] at the age of 25. He was the first British citizen to be killed in the conflict.[7] After his death, activists lobbied for the British government to further support the YPG, warning that otherwise "we will hear of more of those tragedies".[6]

References

  1. "Death Of A British Soldier: Why Did This Marine Give His Life To Fight Isis?". FHM. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. MacAskill, Ewen (4 March 2015). "Konstandinos Erik Scurfield: the former marine who died in someone else's war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. Vardy, Emma (5 March 2017). "Kurds remember 'hero' on anniversary". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. "Kurds' fallen marine airport tribute". BBC News. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. Taylor, Matthew; Bunyan, Nigel; Hawramy, Fazel (4 March 2015). "Family of ex-marine who died battling Isis praise his courage and conviction". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  6. Orton, Kyle (2017). The Forgotten Foreign Fighters: The PKK in Syria (PDF). The Henry Jackson Society.
  7. "Konstandinos Erik Scurfield: Family pays tribute to the first British soldier killed by Isis". The Independent. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.