Briton fighting Isil died hours before return to UK
A BRITON who fought Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria had been due to return home just “a matter of hours” after he died, an inquest heard.
Jac Holmes, 24, had spent four months engaged in heavy fighting in Raqqa and had told his mother he was ready to leave for “rest and recuperation”. But as he attempted to defuse a suicide belt, he was blown up.
The transport scheduled to take him on his homeward journey arrived minutes after he was killed on Oct 23 2017. It had been the former IT worker’s third tour of Syria since 2015 and although his parents pleaded with him not to go, he told them he had “unfinished business”. Mr Holmes, a painter and decorator from Bournemouth, had no military experience but wanted to join the Kurdistan People’s Protection Units because he thought he could help, the hearing was told.
His parents, Peter Holmes and Angie Blannin, told the inquest that they were proud of their son who was considered a “legend” among the Kurds, some of whom named their children Jac.
Rachael Griffin, the coroner, said the explosion was a “tragic accident” and he was “killed trying to save others”.