Australian Soldier Dies In Syria, Mother has No Clue His Son Was Fighting Islamic State

Australian soldier Ashley Johnston killed in a battle in Syria. His mother Amanda Johnston said that she was heartbroken to know that her son was fighting against Islamic State forces.

The Canberra mother said that she thought her son was doing humanitarian work with the Kurds. IS troops earlier ambushed a vehicle which had the 28-year-old soldier, an international volunteer and six Kurdish soldiers. Johnston was killed in the attack on Feb 24. He told his family and friends while leaving Australia for Europe in Oct 2014 that he was going to plans to explore Greenland.

He eventually sent a text message to his mother on Dec 30 and informed her that he was “supporting the Kurdish people” in the Middle East. Since the text message did not elaborate what kind of support he was providing the Kurds, his mother was clueless about it. When she asked him what he was doing there, he said that he had rescued a puppy on that day. He said that the puppy was all caught up in wire.

Johnston told his mother that he had met an American man. The man, who served the U.S. Army, became extremely close to the Australian soldier because they shared the same language unlike most others in the area. However, Johnston did not tell his mother what the name of the American was even after she had asked for it.

Johnston, who spent seven years as an Army Reservist, said that he was in a hurry when his mother asked him where he was. He said that he was fine and safe before hanging up. Johnston kept all his details secret. "He wouldn't give us any idea of actually where he was or the names of anyone who was with him," Amanda said.

Amanda came to know about her son’s death on Thursday. She came to know that IS soldiers surrounded the broken down vehicle. Johnston apparently jumped out of the vehicle, which gave the others in the truck a chance to take a different plan of attack. Amanda talked to the U.S. volunteer. She also received a letter from the six soldiers of the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Amanda said that she was surprised to know what her son used to do. However, she said that she was not surprised to know that Johnston might have saved the life of others by sacrificing his own.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au