A British chef who died fighting against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Syria may have killed himself to avoid capture by the jihadi group, Kurdish sources told the BBC.
Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester in southern England, died on December 21, 2016, while fighting alongside the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in a village outside the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria.
The YPG told the BBC that it had found "trace of a gunshot wound" under Lock's chin, suggesting that he committed suicide.
Lock had traveled to Syria in August 2016 with no military experience to volunteer with Kurdish forces, who have been backed by the United States in their anti-ISIS campaign but have been bombed by Turkish jets. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the separatist PKK rebels, who have carried out multiple attacks in Turkey and wish to create a separate Turkish state.
Lock told his family and friends that he was going on holiday to Turkey before revealing his true destination once he was en route
The Briton died during a mission to retake Raqqa from ISIS. Kurdish sources told the BBC that Lock and four other fighters came under siege in the village of Ja'bar and showed "considerable resistance" before they died.
His body was originally in the hands of ISIS militants but was recaptured by the YPG, which noted in a report that Lock had seemingly committed suicide in order to avoid captivity.
The jihadi group is infamous for producing propaganda videos in which it shows executions of captives, which have included Western journalists and aid workers.
Lock's body was transported into Iraq Tuesday in preparation for its return to the U.K. His father, Jon Plater, said in a statement to the YPG that the family was "grateful to the YPG for bringing him home."
Lock was the third British man to die fighting with Kurdish forces against ISIS. The British Foreign Office advises against all travel to Syria.