IRBIL, iraq — An American fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State in Syria has been killed in battle, authorities said Wednesday, likely the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside them against the extremists.
Keith Broomfield of Massachusetts died June 3 in a battle in the Syrian village of Qentere, which is near the border town of Kobani, said Nasser Haji, an official with a group of Kurdish fighters known as the YPG. He had joined the YPG on Feb. 24 under the nom de guerre Gelhat Raman, Haji said.
Haji did not elaborate on the circumstances of Broomfield’s death, nor did he know the man’s hometown.
State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke confirmed Broomfield’s death but declined to provide any details about the circumstances. He said the U.S. was providing consular assistance to his family.
The fight against the Islamic State has attracted dozens of Westerners, including Iraq war veterans who have made their way back to the Middle East to join Kurdish fighters, who have been most successful against the extremist group.
Many are spurred by Kurdish social media campaigners and a sense of duty rooted in the 2003 U.S.-led military invasion of Iraq.
And while the U.S. and its coalition allies bomb the extremists from the air, Kurds say they hope more Westerners will join them on the ground to fight.
Previously, a British citizen, an Australian and a German woman have been killed fighting with the Kurds.
