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Former British soldier charged with terror offences for ‘trying to join Kurdish fighters in Syria’

Daniel Burke told police he was not a terrorist and that his arrest was a ‘f***ing joke’

Security Correspondent

Saturday 21 December 2019 23:47 GMT

He is accused of attempting to travel back to Syria when Turkey invaded following US withdrawal from Kurdish-held territories (Anadolu Agency/Getty)

A former British Army soldier has been charged with terror offences for allegedly planning to join Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Daniel Burke originally fought with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) between late 2017 and June 2018.

A court heard the 32-year-old was investigated by counterterror police when he returned to the UK, but no action was taken against him.

But Mr Burke was arrested on 7 December in Dover and accused of attempting to travel back to Syria, and helping another person make the journey to Iraq via Spain.

He is also accused of another terror offence for allegedly supporting former comrades in the YPG with money and equipment through platforms including PayPal.

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

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1/9Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Smoke billows following a Turkish airstrike on a village in the Afrin district, on 28 January, 2018. Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes

AFP

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Smoke billows from surrounding villages during the Turkish military operation against the Kurdish enclave on 28 January, 2018

AFP/Getty

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Twenty-year old Kifah al-Moussa, a Syrian Arab woman living among the Kurds of Afrin province, was working on a chicken farm in the village of Maryameen when a Turkish aircraft bombed the building at midday on 21 January, wounding her in the chest. When she recovered consciousness, she found eight people from one family lying dead around her

Yara Ismail

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Mohamed Hussein, a 58-year-old Kurdish farmer, lies in the Afrin hospital, wounded in the head and eye after his home was bombed by Turkish aircraft on the second night of the attack

Yara Ismail

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Syrian Kurds sit on benches overlooking a street in Afrin, on 28 January, 2018. Above is a memorial to ‘martyrs’ who died in the fight against Isis

AFP/Getty

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Smoke is seen rising on the Syrian side of the border, at Hassa, near Hatay, southern Turkey as Turkish jet fighters hit People's Protection Unit (YPG) positions, on 28 January, 2018

AFP/Getty

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

A Turkish made T-155 Firtina (Storm) howitzer is dispatched to the border at Hassa near Hatay, southern Turkey, on 28 January, 2018

AFP/Getty

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

A Turkish soldier waves a flag on Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018

Reuters

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen in Barsaya mountain, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018

Reuters

A hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday was told he decided to return to Syria after Donald Trump pulled American troops out Kurdish-controlled areas that had been retaken from Isis.

The withdrawal was swiftly followed by Turkish invasion.

Mr Burke, of Baguley in Wythenshawe, Manchester, served in the elite Parachute Regiment between 2007 and 2009.

Upon his arrest, he told police: “I’m not a terrorist, you know I’m not a terrorist. I’ve done nothing but fight for this country. This is a f***ing joke.”

Mr Burke is charged with two counts of preparing acts of terrorism, in relation to the travel plans, and one count of funding terrorism.

Judge Tan Ikram remanded him in custody ahead of a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on 17 January.

Additional reporting by PA