UK Kurds honor Greek-Briton who died fighting Islamists

First entry: 21 March 2015

Hundreds of British Kurds were at Manchester Airport to honour the first Briton to die fighting Islamic State.

The body of Konstandinos Erik Scurfield arrived on a plane from Istanbul after being handed over to his father at a ceremony on the Syria-Iraq border last week.
The former Royal marine, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was shot dead earlier this month while fighting in Syria alongside Kurdish forces.
Although Britain has taken part in airstrikes against IS, Mr Scurfield was frustrated by what he saw as the country’s lack of action and support for the Kurds.
Supporters, some of them in tears, threw yellow roses onto a private ambulance carrying the 25-year-old’s body as the vehicle moved slowly along roads around the airport.
Pro-Kurdish rights supporter Mark Campbell described him as a "fallen hero" and a "martyr".
As fellow campaigners applauded, he read out a message from Mr Scurfield’s mother Vasliki saying: "He went out to oppose the so-called IS of course.
"But really he went out to support the rights of every human being to live in their own country with a government they have chosen rather than have one imposed on them by religious ideology."
Mr Campbell dismissed suggestions the former marine had been a mercenary saying he hadn't been paid for fighting with the Kurds.
Another campaigner Aysegul Erdogan said supporters had turned up from all over the UK.
She said: "People have been beheaded including humanitarian aid workers. Journalists were beheaded.
"This needs to stop and in order for this to stop, the international community needs to support the Kurdish people."
The Foreign Office has advised all Britons against travelling to Syria.
About 500 are believed to have gone to join IS but there is little information about the number of people travelling to fight with the Kurds. 
Sky News