US Citizen Killed Fighting With Kurds in Syria Appears in YPG Video

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, released an undated video of US citizen Keith Broomfield on June 10, on the same day that the US Department of State confirmed that he was killed in Syria.

Broomfield, 36, of Lynn, Massachussets, went to Syria to fight alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State. “I can confirm that US citizen Keith Broomfield was killed in Syria,” said spokesman Jeff Rathke. “We are providing all possible consular assistance.”

This footage, released by the YPG, shows Broomfield speaking about his motivations for joining Kurdish fighters.

“I’m here to do what I can to help Kurdistan with everything that’s been going on it seems like the right thing to do. Kobane, they put up a hell of a fight there. Bit of a mess right now. Definitely they could use a lot of rebuilding and help there,” Broomfield says in the video. “I just want to help the cause any way I can.”

The YPG media center shared a statement on their official website June 11, that Broomfield was “martyred in action on June 3 during an operation in Qenterê village, Kobanê.”

Broomfield’s Facebook page features four images, the most recent of which was captured on February 21 and shows Broomfield with a woman wearing a Kurdish YPJ jacket. Credit: Ragihandina YPG