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“Here, on the dark hours of early morning of 4 November 2015, where he exercised an immense belief and strength in the very frontlines, we lost John in eastern of Al-Hasakah,” it read. “On the fearless march toward the posts of the terrorist, we lost our brave companion John ‘Gabar’ and another one injured because of Suicide attack.”

Together with the accounts of the fighters on the ground, the letter left open the possibility the attack that cost Gallagher his life was a suicide operation carried out with a firearm rather than a bomb.

Foreign affairs officials and members of Toronto’s Kurdish community have been working with Carder to repatriate her son’s body from Syria. He will likely be transported to a border city, either in Iraq or Turkey, where Canadian officials will take over.

“We told the family and the mother that her son is our son,” said Kaya, who met Carder at her home near Windsor, Ont. on Friday. “John fought for liberty and for the Kurdish people,” he said.

A former member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Gallagher left in late April for Iraq. He initially fought with the Iraqi peshmerga before crossing into Syria to assist the Kurdish YPG’s fight against ISIL.

He joined the YPG on June 27 and “joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that ISIS caused,” the condolence letter read, adding that “with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for the younger fighters.”

He is among a dozen Canadians, many of them former PPCLI members, who have joined the fight against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. Several other Western volunteers have died but Gallagher was the first Canadian.

“The respected Gallagher family lost their beloved son, and we the YPG lost our daring and courageous companion,” the letter said. “We, the YPG offer our deep condolence to firstly your family as well as all close relatives and honorable people of Canada.”