American fighting with Kurds killed in Islamic State battle
IRBIL - An American fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in Syria has been killed in battle, authorities said Wednesday, likely the first US 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 Bloomfield's death, but declined to provide any details about the circumstances. He said the US was providing consular assistance to his family.
