Icelander Reportedly On Their Way To Syria To Search For Haukur Hilmarsson

An Icelander of as yet unknown identity says they are planning to travel to Afrin, Syria soon to search for Haukur Hilmarsson, who reportedly went missing in the region last February.

The plans were made public in a lengthy Imgur thread posted four days ago.

The actual identity of the Icelander in question is unknown, but based on comment history they describe themselves as nearly 50 years old, spend a lot of time in the countryside, and have a background in medicine; specifically, working in an emergency room for about 10 years now. They are almost certainly Icelandic, based on how well they write Icelandic in comments they have made on other posts on the site and the clear use of an Icelandic keyboard, along with other cues.

“In a few days I will be going to Syria in an attempt to find him,” the Icelander posted. “If there is anyone in usersub that can help me get in contact with good people in Afrin or close to the border in Turkey, please let me know. I have traveled to war zones before and I know that MOST people are decent human beings who like to live in peace and help others as they can.”

In response to the post, numbering over 600 comments at the time of this writing, the vast majority of users are advising the Icelander against traveling to the region. The original poster remains undaunted.

“I see that many people are worried and that is an understandable feeling,” they write. “The situation in Afrin however is probably one of the safest one in Syria at the moment since the Turks have full control over the area. The town that I will go to is close to the boarders of Turkey and very limited fighting has been going on there. After reviving recent photos and videos from the area I do not see the massive destruction of cities and towns like in other parts of Syria.”

Based on comment history, it seems that this person has not yet traveled to the region. When or if they will go still remains to be seen.