The mother of the first Briton to be killed fighting IS in Syria has told Sky News the family is "reeling" after learning of his death
Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, a former Royal Marine, was fighting alongside Kurdish YPG forces in the northern province of Hasakah.
Mr Scurfield's mother, Viki Scurfield, told Sky News: "We are reeling. We just want to get our heads round everything."
She said the family was waiting for confirmation from the police and Foreign Office.
Neighbours said the lights had been on all night at the family's house in Royston, a village on the edge of Barnsley.
The YPG has contacted the family about repatriating his body to the UK, according to Sky sources, but have also offered to bury him as one of their own at a special burial site.
It is understood he died on 2 March and had been fighting alongside the Kurds since the start of December.
Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell told Sky he had broken news of the man's death to his family.
"To be honest it was a harrowing phone call," he said.
"There were three questions really his mother wanted to know immediately...
"She wanted to know if there's a body - and there is. She wanted to know when he died - he died yesterday. And she wanted to know if he died in combat - which he had."
Mr Scurfield was reportedly wounded in a mortar attack during fighting near the town of Tal Barak, and died from his injuries.
Jordan Matson, a former US soldier believed to be fighting with the Kurds, described him on Facebook as a "disciplined warrior".
He wrote: "Kosta volunteered for every attack and guard duty opportunity. He wanted nothing more than to bring the fight to the enemy.
"I'm going to carry on your legacy, brother, I will never forget you. I love you, man. Save me a place up there, big guy."
The Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Syria.
"As we do not have any representation in Syria, it is extremely difficult to get any confirmation of deaths or injuries and our options for supporting British nationals there are extremely limited."
Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis told Sky News he believed Mr Scurfield had gone to Syria to provide humanitarian help and for "honourable reasons".
"My understanding is that he had very significant ideological concerns about what is happening, about the actions Islamic State were taking in the region, and he wanted to make a contribution.
"He went there to make a humanitarian contribution, he didn't go there to fight, he provided medical assistance."
Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said just over 100 Westerners had joined Kurdish forces in Syria from countries including the US, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
Their numbers are small in comparison with those foreign recruits who have joined IS and other hardline groups.
An Australian man fighting with Kurdish forces was killed in the country last week, the Observatory and a Kurdish source said.
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