British ex-soldiers made 'death-pact' while fighting Islamic State in Syria

TWO former British soldiers who travelled to Syria to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants made a plan to shoot each other dead if they faced being captured, it was revealed today.

Ex-British Soldiers- 'Why We Joined Fight Against Islamic State'

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James Hughes (left) and Jamie Read (right) have returned from Syria, inset with Kurdish fighters

Jamie Read and James Hughes said they had hatched their plan in fear of being caught and paraded on television as hostages, adding that "everybody out there is carrying a round for themselves".

The two Britons made headlines last month after it was revealed they had gone to the war-torn country to fight alongside the Kurds in the battle against IS terrorists.

Speaking for the first time since returning to the UK, Mr Read told Sky News: "We wouldn't get captured, bottom line, we couldn't get captured, we're not getting our heads paraded on YouTube, we made that vow before we went out.

"Nobody wants to be captured by IS. Nobody wants to end up on YouTube getting their head cut off.

"So for us, as harsh as it sounds, it's probably the better way to go."

Mr Read, 24, from Cumbria, and Mr Hughes, 26, from Worcestershire, said they had organised the trip through a few phone and Skype calls, and were screened by simply having their Facebook posts checked to ensure their social media friends were not IS supporters.

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The pair have spoken for the first time about their experience

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Mr Read and Mr Hughes meeting Kurdish comrades

Upon arriving in Syria, Mr Read confessed he had no idea whether they had landed in a trap and described the process as "frightening".

He said: "You get picked up by a guy who doesn't speak English, so straight away there's a language barrier.

"When we got to the safe house... it's sort of dodgy-looking, so you think 'I don't really like this'.

"At one point, you think 'is this the point I'm going to get handed over?'"

During their three weeks on the frontline, the pair described how they dodged bullets during patrols with Kurdish forces and spent hours lying in "pitch black" hoping that "no one sees you first".

We wouldn't get captured, bottom line, we couldn't get captured, we're not getting our heads paraded on YouTube

Jamie Read

On one extremely cold day, they said they saw one young Kurdish fighter collapse on the ground from hypothermia.

They returned to Britain last week and were questioned by anti-terrorism officers for six hours at London's Heathrow Airport before being released.

But since returning to the UK, the pair said their homes have now been installed with panic alarms over fears of reprisal attacks from IS supporters.

The pair have persistently denied being "mercenaries" and today revealed how they have returned home to crippling debts after selling their possessions to fund their travels.

Despite maintaining they had not been paid for their efforts, they did confess they had been treated "like royalty" by some of the Kurdish troops.

Mr Read said: "There was no payment. We sold everything we pretty much had to fund themselves while we were out there."

When asked if they planned to return to Syria, he added: "I'd like to think we would have the opportunity to go back".

Earlier this month, the pair revealed that the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning was "the final straw" in their decision to head to Syria.

Mr Read branded IS as the "biggest threat the world faces" and was prompted to act following the release of a video in October which showed former taxi driver Mr Henning, 47, being killed by a masked militant known as 'Jihadi John'.

"My family were nervous and obviously worried about my well-being," he told The Sun.

"But I'm a firm believer that if you want to do something you have to do it and not just talk about it.

"Killing the aid worker was the final straw. There is no justification for their executions - for putting innocent guys on their knees and doing that."

Both Mr Read and Mr Hughes are believed to be two of several Britons who have travelled to Syria to aid the Kurdish peshmerga forces.

On the opposite side, official figures suggest more than 500 Britons have travelled to fight for IS in Syria and Iraq.

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