Ashley Johnston fell a martyr in Til Hemis, 12 thousand km away from his homeland. After his martyrdom, his mother was also impressed by the revolutionary struggle and said, “I am a Kurd, too.”

On February 21, 2015, a liberation campaign was launched in the Til Hemis-Til Berak region and surrounding areas in the Cizîre Canton which were under ISIS occupation. The YPG, YPJ, Asayish (Internal Security Forces), Kurdish, Arab, Syriac and Assyrian, as well as internationalist fighters from all over the world were martyred in the liberation campaign in these regions, including Australian native Bagok Serhed (Ashley Johnston), Greek native British Kemal (Konstandinos Erik Scurfield), Arab native Commander Baran Amara (Udey El Ubeyd), whose entire family was murdered by ISIS and who had long been fighting in the ranks of the YPG, and Afro-German native Avaşin Tekosin Güneş (Ivanna Hoffman) were martyred.

HE WAS AN ARMY OFFICER

Ashley Johnston, whose nom de guerre was Bagok Serhed, was born on April 15, 1986, in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. The son of Amanda and Bery Johnston was a postal worker and a reserve officer in the Australian Army. He served as a rifleman and combat medic in the Australian Army Reserve, where he spent seven years. This military experience helped him in his struggle. When the worldwide terror attacks by ISIS and its brutal oppression of the Syrian people shocked many people and angered him, he decided to go to Syria to support the People's Defence Units (YPG) against ISIS atrocities.

HE ARRIVED IN ROJAVA WITH THE FIRST INTERNATIONALIST GROUP

Johnston went to the Rojava Revolution Area with the Lions of Rojava, the first internationalist group of fighters to come to Rojava in 2014. After his arrival in Rojava, he immediately joined the YPG. He participated in the liberation campaign launched in Til Hemis on February 21, 2015, and was martyred 2 days later, on February 23, 2015, in Xesan village of Til Hemis. His body was delivered back to his country and buried in Canberra, the capital of Australia, on April 8, 2015.

HIS MOTHER SAID 'I'M A KURD, TOO'

After learning of his son’s martyrdom, Bagok Serhed's mother, Amanda, wanted to get to know the revolutionary struggle of the Kurds better. In solidarity not only with her son but also with everyone fighting for freedom, she said that “I am a Kurd, too”. Amanda said knowing that her son was not forgotten by the Kurds was part of her recovery process: “I look at his photos and ... you can see his eyes shining, and his face smiling.”