AN IT worker from Poole who is fighting Islamic State extremists in Syria has been shot during a gun battle.

Jac Holmes, who has no military experience, says he’s determined to stay in the war-torn nation despite being injured.

The video gamer flew out to Syria to join the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish fighting force in northern Syria, just weeks before his 22nd birthday in January.

He previously worked as a service desk analyst for Bournemouth council's private outsourcing partner Mouchel.

In an interview with the Mail Online, he said he had been shot in the arm during a gun battle.

He said: “I've been in various small skirmishes at range and was involved in heavy fighting in Tel Nasri, a large Christian village controlled by Daesh, where I was shot in the arm and injured.”

More than 1,000 IS fighters and hundreds of Kurds are reported to have died in the Syrian border town of Kobane in the region, known to Kurds as Rojava.

Mr Holmes said he was drawn to the area to “assist the people in their struggle” and is determined to stay in Syria until the end of the war.

Speaking from Syria, he said: “I was learning about the whole Syrian civil war and seeing the grim situation as it developed over the past six months before I came here.

“Every day there was a new atrocity, whether it be perpetrated by Assad or the likes of Daesh (Isis).

“I got sick of seeing what was going on while the British government and the rest of the West did nothing and most people knew nothing of the situation in the region, so I took it upon myself to come out here and do whatever I could to assist the people in their struggle.”

It’s understood he lived with his father in Parkstone before he went to Syria. His friends and family are urging him to come home safe.

Mr Holmes said: “I've only used the internet maybe three or four times in my nearly four months over here, but I have been in contact with my family and friends via text.

“Most of them support me in what I'm doing and just wish for me to come home safe. I'd like to stay in Rojava until the whole region is liberated, after that I'm not sure what I will do.

“I may go home for a while to see friends and family and relax but I do feel attached to this region and would like to see how it develops and be involved in its development in the future.”