British volunteer fighting Isis killed clearing mines in Syria, say sources

The 24-year-old from the Portsmouth area only arrived in Syria about four months ago

Oliver Hall, believed to have died after a mine exploded near him (Ollie Hall/Facebook)

A British man who travelled to Syria to fight against Isis has been killed while clearing mines in the recently-liberated city of Raqqa.

The man, named as 24-year-old Oliver Hall from the Portsmouth area, had only been in the war-torn country for about four months when he died.

He was said to have been clearing mines from Raqqa, which had been under the so-called caliphate's control for three and a half years, with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) when he was caught in an explosion and fatally injured.

His family have been informed.

A statement from 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 (SDF), fell on 25 November from an explosion of ordnance left by Daesh after the liberation of the city.

"Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Ollie at this time."

Posts on social media appeared to show Mr Hall in Raqqa, wearing camouflage clothing and carrying weaponry, with messages pledging solidarity between the UK and Syria.

The posts were accompanied by good luck messages from friends at home.

Mr Hall's death comes just over a month after the fatal injury to fellow Briton Jac Holmes, a sniper from Bournemouth, who had fought alongside the YPG since January 2015.

He was also clearing mines in Raqqa when he died.

The other British fatalities fighting against Isis are Mehmet Aksoy, 32, Luke Rutter, 22, Ryan Lock, 20, Dean Evans, 22, and Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25.

Raqqa had served as the capital of Isis' so-called caliphate since 2014, and had been under the group's control for more than three and a half years until its liberation last month.

The YPG, also known as the People's Protection Units, is mostly made up of Kurdish men and women fighting against IS in northern Syria.

PA