Massachusetts' Keith Broomfield was killed while fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in a village near Kobane, northern Syria.
"I can confirm that U.S. citizen Keith Broomfield was killed in Syria. We're providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of Mr. Broomfield's family, I don't have any additional details," said a U.S. State Department spokesperson on Thursday, according to Sputnik News.
Broomfield, 36, is believed to be the first American national to die while fighting for the Kurdish forces, reported the Associated Press.
He was one of four Americans serving the Lions of Rojava, a group of western fighters attached to the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG), according to RFERL.
"He was a warrior with the courage and the heart of a lion. We want to thank his mother, Donna, for giving birth and raising such a wonderful son," said a post on the Lions of Rojava Facebook page, which also described him as a "brave American warrior."
"Broomfield, who entered Syria a few months ago, joined the ranks of the YPG forces and participated in many battles in several fronts against ISIS in Kobane countryside and Tel Abyad (Gire Spi) in Raqqa province, northeastern Syria," said a YPG fighter, according to ARA News.
Hundreds of Kurds bid a hero's farewell to Broomfield, as his casket was driven in a white van through the streets of Kobani on Thursday, reported Mail Online. His body was handed over to family at a place on the Syrian-Turkish border for the journey back to Massachusetts.
His grief-stricken family said Keith left four months ago to join Kurds.
"He turned his life over to the Lord and he decided this was God's will and God wanted him to do it," his mother, Donna, told NBC News. "I didn't want him to go, but I didn't have a choice in the matter."
"He knew the risk. He understood those. He believed in opposing evil, which I believe in, too," said his older brother, Andy Broomfield.
"My brother died to defend my sisters who are being sold, enslaved, raped and murdered. To defend my brothers who are shot, beheaded and dumped into piles off trucks," his sister, Jennifer Broomfield, posted on Facebook, according to NBC News. "This cannot continue. This needs to end. I don't care what country we are from."
