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This British Granddad Has Gone to Fight ISIS in Iraq

Jim Atherton says he misses bacon sandwiches and his sausage dogs.
​ Above: 53-year-old Jim Atherton (Photo via the Sun)

This article originally appeared on VICE UK

In a rare case of a 53-year-old British anti-jihadist putting his money where his mouth is, Jim Atherton of Tyne and Wear has decided that enough is enough, and has gone to join the fight against ISIS in Iraq, the Sun reports.

British authorities have implored the grandfather to return home, after he sold his car, motorbikes, and a boat to raise £18,000 [$28,000] for weapons and a plane ticked to Iraq. But Jim Atherton has no plans of returning. Jim Atherton went to blow those ISIS bastards up, and blow them up is what he is going to do.

He was reportedly inspired to join the fight after coming across a Christian militia by the name of Dwekh Nawsha, or "The Sacrificers," whose aim is to protect Christian villages. Though his family was naturally upset by the idea of their patriarch being shot at every five minutes—Atherton has already been attacked with mortars and rockets—he says that "it was just something [he] had to do."

"Our lodging is taken care of and so is our food. But the grub is not always great for Western stomachs. I really miss bacon sandwiches—although you get HP sauce."

Atherton, who was caring for rescued sausage dogs when he made the decision to go to Iraq, has no military experience but has "been made to feel very welcome": "I arrived with no military training but I'm fairly savvy with weapons already because my dad was into competition shooting," he told the Sun.