OTTAWA — Member of Canada's Kurdish community are gathering in Ottawa today to honour an Ontario man who died fighting Islamic State militants in Syria.
Nazzareno Tassone, 24, was killed on Dec. 21 while fighting alongside the Kurdish People's Defense Units.
His family in Niagara Falls, Ont., only learned of his death last week when they received a letter from the Kurdish group.
Tassone's sister says a memorial for her brother has been organized by Kurdish community members at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near Parliament Hill.
Giustina Tassone says the commemoration of her brother's life is "overwhelming" but his family is grateful.
She says her brother left Canada in June, telling his family he was headed to Iraq and Turkey to teach English.
The news of his death was the first time they learned he had been fighting in Syria.
