Although there are no official accounts, more than 100 Westerners are believed to have joined as volunteers in the battle against the Islamic State. The U.S.-led coalition against IS, which includes the U.K., frequently carries out airstrikes against the militants. File Photo by UPI/Photo by Ron Sachs. | License Photo

LONDON, March 17 (UPI) -- Eight former members of the British Army have bought combat gear and assault rifles as they train to travel to Syria to fight the Islamic State.

One group member said the United Kingdom has not done enough in the battle against IS, which is why the group must defeat IS for the sake of "freedom and democracy," reports the London Evening Standard.


The U.K. is part of the U.S.-led coalition against the IS, which carries out airstrikes against the militant group and also trains moderate ground forces such as the Kurdish Peshmerga.

The group calls themselves the International Volunteer Force (IVFOR) and some members may have received Special Forces training. They are set to travel to Syria "within weeks."

"Although we wear a similar uniform to UK armed forces, we have no association to them other than the fact that we are ex-armed forces," one IVFOR member said. "We will deploy a strong force to aid the Kurdish militias. We intend to work as one effective, rather than split or tag onto other militia units. We intend to be a serious asset."

The groups has kept their identities secret because of fears they may be prevented from traveling to Syria.

More than 100 Westerners are believed to have traveled to combat the IS.

Patrick Maxwell, 29, is an American former Marine who was honorably discharged in 2011. He traveled temporarily to Iraq to join Kurdish security as a volunteer fighter

"I may not be enlisted anymore, but I'm still a warrior," Maxwell told The New York Times. "I figured if I could walk away from here and kill as many of the bad guys as I could, that would be a good thing."