A Gold Coast “warrior” fighting with Kurdish forces against Islamic State terrorists has reportedly been killed in Syria.

Reece Harding, 23, is understood to have been killed instantly after stepping on a landmine.

The family of Mr Harding told the ABC they received a phone call informing them of his death from an overseas number on Monday.

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Father Keith Harding said his son would not say where he was going when he left Australia in May, saying only that he needed to get away for a while.

He later sent a message saying he was doing “humanitarian” work.

Mr Harding said he received a phone message on Monday telling him to call an overseas number. When he did, a man told him “Reece is gone”.

The grieving Gold Coast father said there has been a wave of support from Kurdish communities in Victoria and NSW.

“They basically said do not worry about a thing, we will get your son out of Syria and into Australia, arrange the funeral for him, so you don’t have to worry about a thing,” he told the ABC.

“I can’t believe what a relief that was to hear from them.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Sky News on Wednesday morning she could not confirm the death.

She noted it was illegal for Australians to fight “on either side” in the Middle Eastern conflict.

Mr Harding said he was shocked by his son’s decision to join the fight against Islamic State in Syria, but believed Reece was driven by a sense of justice.

“With all the information that’s spread about on the internet with people beheading people, killing children, raping and beating women, I think it really did get to him in the end.

“He felt that he wanted to do the right thing and try and stop it in his small way that he could. I’m sure that’s the driving force of him going to do this.”

Reece’s 17-year-old brother Jordan said he felt conflicted about his brother’s decision to aid forces battling against Islamic State.

“You’re caught between two ideas — that you don’t want him to be over there, then you understand why he’s over there and why’s he’s doing what he was doing,” he said.

“I can say I’m proud of him being over there and I understand his thought process …”

Tributes have begun to flow on a Lions of Rojava Facebook page, set up by supporters that recruit for the Kurdish-Syrian armed forces, the YPG.

“His whole unit swore revenge for his death,” a man who claimed to have fought alongside the Australian posted on the page.

“[We] will leave no stone unturned until those filthy ISIS rats are exterminated.”