Close X
Monday, November 4, 2024
ADVT 
International

Mother Of Canadian Killed Fighting ISIL Questions Delay In Returning Son's Body

The Canadian Press, 07 Feb, 2017 01:38 PM
    TORONTO — The mother of a Canadian man killed fighting Islamic State militants in northern Syria is questioning why her son's body still hasn't been recovered when the remains of a British fighter who died on the same day were on the way to the United Kingdom.
     
    Nazzareno Tassone, 24, was killed on Dec. 21 in the city of Raqqa, while fighting alongside the Kurdish People's Defense Units, a U.S.-backed group also known as the YPG.
     
    His family in Niagara Falls, Ont., only learned of his death in early January, when they received a letter from the YPG, which also said that his body had been seized by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS or ISIL.
     
    "I just want him home. I need him home," Tassone's mother, Tina Martino, said in an emotional interview. "I haven't been at work. I just sit here, day after day, waiting for the phone to ring and hope."
     
    The Toronto Kurdish Community Centre, whose leaders delivered the YPG letter to Martino, has said negotiations are underway between the YPG and ISIL to retrieve Tassone's body.
     
    The centre has also said that the YPG was simultaneously negotiating to recover the bodies of other fighters killed in combat on the same day as Tassone, including a British volunteer fighter named Ryan Lock.
     
    Martino said she recently learned Lock's body was recovered, making her wonder why her son's body has not.
     
    "I asked why wasn't Nazz with Ryan and the only thing they could say was that they believe the two boys were not together at the same time," she said. "(The Toronto Kurdish Community Centre) told me at the beginning I was going to have to wait four to six weeks. And now I don't understand, he passed away on Dec. 21."
     
    Martino said she's calling on the Canadian government, the Kurdish community and anyone who can help in the matter to do what they can to bring her son's body back to Canada.
     
    "All I want to do is get my word out in asking to get my son home," she said. 
     
    Ihsan Kaya, co-president of the Toronto Kurdish Community Centre, said he's been in contact with the YPG regularly about Tassone and noted that the Canadian man and his British co-fighter may have been separated but were believed to be fighting in the same area.
     
    "The YPG doesn't have (Tassone's) body yet but I hope we get the good news soon," Kaya said, adding that the region the YPG is fighting in is a volatile one with fast-shifting boundaries.
     
    Global Affairs Canada said officials were in contact with local authorities to gather information and were also providing Tassone's family with consular assistance.
     
    A spokeswoman noted, however, that "due to the unpredictable security situation" the Canadian government's ability to provide consular assistance in all parts of Iraq and Syria is severely limited.
     
    Tassone left Canada in June, telling his family he was headed to Iraq and Turkey to teach English. His family had suspected, given Tassone's long-standing interest in the military, that he might get involved in the Middle East conflict, but it was only after his death that they learned he'd been fighting in Syria.
     
    Martino said she's vowed not to have a funeral for her son until his body was repatriated.
     
    "I said that there would be no funeral, there would be nothing. But now I don't know."

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Healthy Indo-Australian Engineer Supreet Kaur, 27, Dies After Complaining Of 'Crippling' Headaches

    Healthy Indo-Australian Engineer Supreet Kaur, 27, Dies After Complaining Of 'Crippling' Headaches
    Supreet Kaur - who was visiting her family in Perth - was ordered to undergo a crucial CT scan but staff at Fiona Stanley Hospital allegedly ignored her doctor's referral, The West Australian reported.

    Healthy Indo-Australian Engineer Supreet Kaur, 27, Dies After Complaining Of 'Crippling' Headaches

    Barack Obama Shouts At Supporters, Defends Man Backing Donald Trump

    Barack Obama Shouts At Supporters, Defends Man Backing Donald Trump
    Obama repeatedly told the crowd to "hold up" as Hillary Clinton's supporters started booing a man who stood up with the sign supporting the Republican presidential nominee.

    Barack Obama Shouts At Supporters, Defends Man Backing Donald Trump

    Indian National Sentenced For Slashing Ex-Wife's Throat In Singapore

    Indian National Sentenced For Slashing Ex-Wife's Throat In Singapore
    Krishnan Karunakaran had slashed throat of his 38-year-old wife Boomichelvi Ramasamy in October 2013 after she rebuffed his demands to help him stay in Singapore by getting his visa extended and not let him see their one-year-old daughter.

    Indian National Sentenced For Slashing Ex-Wife's Throat In Singapore

    This Little Boy’s Heartwarming Description Of His Vacation In Pakistan Is Extremely Moving

    This Little Boy’s Heartwarming Description Of His Vacation In Pakistan Is Extremely Moving
    This little boy explained how he used to travel to Hyderabad with his mother almost every other summer.

    This Little Boy’s Heartwarming Description Of His Vacation In Pakistan Is Extremely Moving

    Kamala Harris Set To Become First Indian-American Senator

    Kamala Harris Set To Become First Indian-American Senator
    Ms Harris, 51, has already got the backing of US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to be the state's next Senator, brightening her chances to become the first from the community ever to be a member of the Upper House.

    Kamala Harris Set To Become First Indian-American Senator

    Man Pens The Most Honest 'Thank You' Letter To His Fiance's Ex - For Letting Her Go

    Man Pens The Most Honest 'Thank You' Letter To His Fiance's Ex - For Letting Her Go
    The letter posted on his Facebook in March this year went viral and was recently shared on Reddit, where it has been shared over 35,000 times, at the time of writing.

    Man Pens The Most Honest 'Thank You' Letter To His Fiance's Ex - For Letting Her Go