Two Americans fighting alongside Kurdish forces in northern Syria were killed last week as the battle to retake the Islamic State’s de-facto capital there continues well into its second month.
Nicholas Warden, 29, and Robert Grodt, 28, died last week on the outskirts of Raqqa, according to U.S. officials and a statement released by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG. Neither appeared to have any prior formal military experience. Another westerner, a British man named Luke Rutter, was also killed, the statement said.
In a video posted by the YPG, Warden said he was from Buffalo, N.Y., and traveled to join the YPG in February to fight the Islamic State because of the attacks inspired by the terrorist group in places in the U.S.
Grodt, a one-time volunteer medic with the Occupy Wall Street movement, had also traveled to join the YPG around the same time, according to Ron Kuby, a family friend and lawyer. Grodt was originally from California. Grodt’s mother, Tammy, confirmed that she had received notification about his death but has heard little else about how he died.
“It’s pretty hard to put into words right now,” she said.
