American killed while fighting IS in Syria

Associated Press

DENVER

A Colorado man who joined Kurdish forces in their fight against the Islamic State group was killed in combat in Syria, his mother said Thursday.

Susan Shirley said the U.S. Consulate in Turkey called her Tuesday to tell her that her son, Levi Shirley, 24, was killed July 14 by a land mine.

She said her son had wanted to join the Marines since high school, but he couldn’t because of bad eyesight. He reached out to Kurdish forces online and joined the fight in Iraq and Syria for about three months last year before returning to Arvada in suburban Denver.

“He saw ISIS as a terrible evil, and that just was not OK with him,” Shirley said. “That’s the way his mind works. If you are defenseless, he will help you.”

State Department officials said Thursday they are aware of reports that an American was killed in Syria, but they declined to comment further.