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The killings of two Canadian Forces members last October hit Brandon Glossop hard. The strapping former infantryman had left the military in 2013, but he still felt he needed to do something about the terrorists targeting Canadians.

Together with another veteran, he started planning a private mission. A week ago, he left Edmonton for northern Iraq. He has since crossed into Syria and joined a Kurdish militia that is doing battle against the Islamic State of Iraq & Al-Sham (ISIS), according to a friend.

“I can confirm that he’s over there somewhere,” his father said Monday. He said the family would not comment further, but the friend said Mr. Glossop was deeply moved by the deadly attacks in Ottawa and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.

Mr. Glossop, 26, is the second Canadian veteran known to have volunteered to fight against ISIS alongside Kurdish forces. Dillon Hillier, a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict like Mr. Glossop, returned to Ontario in January after two months in Iraq.

“We encourage Canadians who want to join the fight against genocidal terrorist organizations like ISIL to join the Canadian Armed Forces, who are having a real impact in degrading the capability of ISIL,” Defence Minister Jason Kenney said in a statement Monday, using another acronym for ISIS.