Known as 'Ashley' or 'Bagok', he has been fighting with Kurdish forces since December and News Corp Australia has gained a world exclusive of the last interview the Australian before his death.

The first Australian fatality in the fight against ISIS

WORLD EXCLUSIVE

AUSTRALIA’S first fatality in the fight against ISIS feared he would face 10 years in jail and be treated with the same level of contempt as the “death cult” jihadists if he returned home.

The 28-year-old mercenary, who is understood to have been from Queensland and reportedly known as “Ashley Kent Johnston” — but went by his Kurdish name “Bagok” — was fighting against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since early December.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Unit yesterday confirmed the Australian had died “outnumbered and outgunned” after a truck he and eight other fighters had been travelling in had broken down in Shingal in Iraq near the Syrian border.

News Corp Australia has obtained audio from the last interview conducted with the Aussie fighter, in which he talks about the reasons for wanting to be involved in the conflict.

“The Kurdish people are awesome,” he said while in a makeshift hospital in Sinjar city in Northern Iraq last month.

“That’s why I want to help them.”

Listen to his final interview above.

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Vanity Fair journalist James Harkin, who conducted the interview with a group of foreign fighters on the Iraq/Syria border, yesterday confirmed the man identified by Kurdish fighters as their fallen comrade was the Australian he interviewed.

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The interview was conducted on January 16 after the Australian had been injured in a mortar rocket attack. He said he had narrowly escaped death in the incident after being trapped under rubble and being “probably one more minute” away from death.

“I barely had air,” he said.

In the interview, Bagok also described the ISIS fighters he had encountered.

“The ones I’ve seen have dark clothes and are usually wearing a tan beanie — that’s what I’ve seen,” he said.

The 28-year-old was understood to have served in the Australian Army Reserve for seven years as a Rifleman and section level combat medic.

During his last interview he talked about the threat of a ten year jail sentence in Australia which applied equally to him and Australian ISIS fighters.

“He was deeply annoyed about this,” Harkin told News Corp Australia yesterday.

“It’s one reason he wouldn’t give me his (real) name, and perhaps one reason he couldn’t go home.”

The 28-year-old’s impassioned last words and the revelations he was reluctant to return to Australia comes as DFAT yesterday urged all Australians in the conflict zone to leave immediately.

“Any Australians fighting with non-state militia in Syria or Iraq should end their involvement in the conflict now and leave the conflict zone,” a spokesman said.

But Attorney-General George Brandis confirmed that those involved in the fighting — on either side — would be punished upon return to Australia.

Fighters could face up to life in prison.

“We know there are some Australians who think they’ve made the right choice in becoming involved in overseas conflicts, but that choice only adds to the suffering in Syria and Iraq — and it’s putting those Australians and others in mortal danger,” a spokeswoman said.

“It is illegal to fight in Syria for either side of the conflict.”

There are at least 140 Australians who have travelled overseas to fight in Iraq and Syria and at least 20 fighting for terrorist groups in the region that are known to have died.

Yesterday the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YGK) posted on Facebook about the death of the Australian, who they said was the first foreign fighter to die in the battle against ISIS.

They named him as Heval Bagok Serhed, which accords with Harkin’s identification of the Australian.

“He is the first western fighter to be martyred fighting the evil of isis (sic.). Rest in Peace our Brother,” the The Lions Of Rojava group posted.

“He was taken from us in a heroic assault on ISIS positions in a small village near Shingal.”

They described him as a “fearless and exceptional soldier as well a great man”.

The group said the Australian had given his life in an attempt to rid the world of “the greatest evil of the 21st century — ISIS”.

The Lions Of Rojava helps recruit soldiers for the YGK which is the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party.

YGK is not listed as a terror organisation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but has links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is listed as a terrorist organisation by ASIO.

It is understood it was possible that the Australian was actually fighting for PKK rather than YGK at the time of his death. In January he was understood to have been fighting with the PKK.

The Aussie is said to have had a sister who had been informed of his death yesterday.

It was revealed last month the president of the Northern Territory Labor Party and secretary of the United Voice union Matthew Gardiner, who has an army background, travelled to Syria or Iraq to join the fight against ISIS.

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The AFP are investigating the case after the 43-year-old left the country without telling friends or family.

News of the latest Australian casualty follows Tony Abbott’s national security address on Monday.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to crush the “death cult” ISIS — or Daesh as they are referred to by local Kurds, a name the group hates.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told parliament yesterday the government had begun to take action to prevent Australians from travelling overseas to join the conflict.

“Over 100 passports of those seeking to travel to the terrorist conflict have already been confiscated,” Ms Bishop said.

She said the government was working to counter the online radicalisation campaign Daesh had waged.

“We are challenging the lies that Daesh spreads.”