Jac Holmes: Killed fighter 'due to leave Raqqa'

A British man who travelled to Syria to fight the Islamic State (IS) group was killed "a matter of hours" before he was due to leave, an inquest has heard.

Jac Holmes, 24, died in October while attempting to defuse a suicide bomb belt left by IS in Raqqa.

He first left his home in Poole to join Kurdish YPG forces in 2015.

Coroner Rachael Griffin said the explosion was a "tragic accident" and Mr Holmes was "killed trying to save others".

The inquest heard he suffered severe blast injuries to the head, and would have died instantly in the explosion on 23 October, days after IS forces were ousted from Raqqa.

Jac Holmes's parents attended the inquest in Bournemouth

Det Con Jonathan Marshall, of Dorset Police, told the hearing Mr Holmes was planning on returning home from the recently liberated city when he died.

"He was a matter of hours from being extracted by a vehicle from Raqqa," he said.

He said Mr Holmes had defused improvised explosive devices "numerous times" during his time with the YPG.

'Deadly consequences'

The officer told the hearing he had personally tried to dissuade Mr Holmes from travelling to Syria in 2015.

"Sadly, he was not to be deterred. I tried to say to him there were other things he could do to help - humanitarian and aid work," he said.

The court also heard Mr Holmes' mother and father had tried to discourage their son from joining the YPG, but he was a "courageous warrior" who was "determined to help".

Coroner Ms Griffin warned of the "deadly consequences" of travelling to war zones like Syria, even with good intentions.

A military ceremony was held in Syria for Mr Holmes and fellow Briton Oliver Hall

Mr Holmes, a painter and decorator who had no prior military training, became one of the longest-serving foreign volunteers in the fight against IS.

As a sniper with Kurdish militia he had fought in operations to push the group out of key towns and villages including Tel Hamis, Manbij, and Tabqa.

Speaking after the inquest, his mother Angie Blannin, from Dover, Kent, said she spoke to her son the day before he was killed, when he said he was "ready to leave" the war zone.

She said: "He wanted to make the place safe before he left.

"I've always been proud of Jac. He knew he could make a difference and I think he has made a massive difference.

"I would never encourage anyone to go out and do what Jac did, because I'd never want anyone to go through what we've gone through as a family."